


As Long As You Love Me

by orphan_account



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-10-30 00:30:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10865301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Waverly and Nicole meet by chance in the middle of rural France, not knowing how important they'd later be to each other. Afterwards, they return to their lives - Waverly as part of the Black Badge Division in Purgatory, and Nicole as a police officer in Toronto. When they meet again, seemingly by chance, neither can quite believe it. Is it chance bringing them together, or fate?A retelling of WayHaught, with a heavy side of Revenant activity and Wynonna butt-kicking to enjoy :)





	1. Chapter 1

Waverly Earp woke up to find the other side of the bed empty. It wasn't unusual - Champ wasn't spending much time with her, despite the fact they were meant to be on holiday together. She tried to persuade herself that she didn't feel anything because she was so used to it by now, but she knew that her indifference was actually because she just didn't care where Champ was.

She stretched in the bed, still strange to her after a week of sleeping in it, and groaned in pleasure as her muscles went taunt. She yawned, rubbed crust from her eyes, ran a hand through her hair, and stood up. A smile spread across her face as she beheld the view out of the window. The sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon and the first rays were falling on the golden fields. They were a sea of wheat, rippling as one in the slight breeze of the early morning. To the left lay a picturesque river, winding out of sight as it got further downstream. As she watched, a small splash caused ripples on the surface as a fish jumped out of the water.

She headed downstairs, wrapping a thin dressing gown around her to cover her tank top and pyjama shorts. It was their last day in France, and she wanted to make the most of it. _Even if that means getting up at 7 o'clock_ , she grumbled to herself.

After coffee and croissant for breakfast, she showered and got dressed. By now, the sun had fully risen, and she could already feel its heat. Shorts and crop top seemed the only option (not that she ever wears much else anyway) and as she got dressed she wondered about Champ. They'd been in France for one day - _one day!_ \- when he bumped into some of his old school friends. Since then, he'd hardly spent any time with her, his _girlfriend_ , who'd paid for the entire trip out of savings from wages from Shorty’s and consulting with the Black Badge. She didn't care about the lack of company (Champ was hardly a source of riveting conversations) but it angered her how he'd disregarded her so easily.

_"I'm going out again today babe, with Matty and Tye." He'd said to her one morning. "You don't mind do you?" He'd already thrown his shoes on and was halfway out of the door, hardly giving her a chance to respond, so Waverly had just smiled and said, "Of course not."_

Sighing at the memory, she pulled on her sun hat and checked her reflection in the mirror quickly. She looked the same as always, though perhaps her skin had bronzed a little, and her brown hair had a few streaks of blonde running through from the sun. Walking out of the door, she began to plan for yet another day by herself.

\---

Nicole Haught hurried down the street in rural France, cursing under her breath. Her first European experience wasn't off to a great start. Her seven hour flight had been delayed yesterday, so she'd had to call her parents and tell them _"No, I won't be able to join you for dinner. No, it's not that I don't want to, it's that I'm not going to be in the country."_ Then, as she landed in Southern France, tired and admittedly a little sweaty from the long plane journey, she'd bought a train ticket online to get her to her parents’ house in the city where she's been unable to get flights to. Now, she was running around this damned little town trying to find the train station.

She checked her watched and swore again - five minutes until her train left. Glancing around wildly, auburn hair whipping in the wind, she spotted a cafe to her right. _Somebody there must know the way to the train station._ She jogged over, mentally berating her parents for making her come on a family holiday. She was 26 for God's sake! The police officer was too busy ranting to herself that she didn't see the brunette until she'd barrelled into her, sending both of them tumbling to the ground.

As they fell, Nicole heard the other girl yell, "Hey!" and then heard the breath whoosh from her body as it impacted the ground, the redhead landing hard on top of her.

"I'm so sorry!" Nicole exclaimed, hurriedly scrambling to free the woman who was pinned beneath her. She had long, chestnut coloured hair that fell down past her shoulders from under a floppy sun hat. Rich brown eyes had locked onto her, initially crinkled up in anger, but they were now open wider in... _surprise?_ Nicole held a hand out to help the stranger up. "Are you hurt? I'm sorry, I wasn't looking at all."

She seemed unable to speak for a moment and Nicole thought that maybe she didn't speak English, but then she seemed to realise she'd been asked a question. She glanced down at herself, checking - presumably - for injuries. "No, no, I'm fine. Honestly. Don't worry about it." And then she'd smiled. Nicole's breath hitched; the smile was so dazzlingly beautiful, so pure, so genuine.

"I'm Waverly." The woman said, that magical smile still on her face. "I know – weird name." Waverly – Nicole thought it was a lovely name – laughed softly, and Nicole's world exploded.

She still managed to shake Waverly's hand ( _how was her skin that soft?_ ) and had responded, "Nicole." Glad that her voice still sounded smooth and confident, she was a little surer that she wasn't going to make a total fool of herself, so she decided to continue. "Again, I'm really sorry."

Waverly gestured, as if to sweep the apology away. "I'm fine." They smiled at each other for a moment, before Waverly asked, "Where were you running to anyway?"

_Shit_. Nicole glanced at her watch, trying to persuade herself that she still had time to catch the train. No such luck - the train was due to set off in the next minute, and unless the station was around the corner...

"You don't happen to know where the train station is, do you?"

Waverly pointed in the general direction. "Yeah - that way, on the other side of town."

The redhead felt her stomach plummet - but only for a second. _My parents will just have to wait another couple of hours_. She tried to convince herself that they wouldn't mind her delaying their long-awaited reunion, but knew they'd be pissed. Again.

"Thanks." She smiled at Waverly anyway, because it was seeming near-impossible to face Waverly and _not_ smile. The brunette glanced down, breaking eye contact for a second, and it seemed like she had a fain blush on her lightly tanned cheeks. Nicole followed the movement, and that's when she saw the blood.

"Oh my god – you _are_ hurt!" She stepped closer to inspect the source of the blood on Waverly's leg.

"No, it's just a little scratch is all." Waverly protested, moving her leg away slightly.

"Waverly," Nicole said, savouring the way the name felt in her mouth, "let me take a look."

The woman looked torn for a moment – probably weighing the pros and cons of letting a strange woman take care of her – and then nodded.

Nicole smiled softly, glad that Waverly had trusted her enough to let her help. She knelt on her knees in front of the girl, flushing slightly at the position she'd found herself in (in the middle of a street, no less!) and gently touched the bronze skin of Waverly's leg around the cut. She told herself the jolt of movement from Waverly was from the pain, just the pain. Still, she couldn't help herself from hoping that it wasn't.

\---

Waverly blushed as the gorgeous red head knelt before her, glad Nicole was intent on the cut on her leg and not her face. She'd been strolling along the street, heading to her favourite cafe, when she'd been practically tackled by the woman in front of her. Of course, her instinctive reaction was to yell at her assailant, but then she'd actually _seen_ her, and no longer felt the need to shout. In fact, she'd felt the need to apologise for whatever reason.

Waverly Earp had seen attractive women before, obviously. But they all paled in comparison to Nicole. She had glossy auburn hair that Waverly longed to run her hands through, brown eyes that sparkled with warmth and kindness, and that _smile_... It had left her breathless.

She suddenly felt Nicole's fingers gently graze the area of the cut, and a shiver went through her so violently that she involuntarily jerked. Mortified, she peeked to see if Nicole had noticed ( _how could she not notice?)_ and immediately went scarlet in embarrassment. The woman was sitting back on her heels, looking at Waverly with an amused expression and raised eyebrows. Eventually, still smirking, she went back to the wound.

"It's just a cut. Not very deep." She stood up, mercifully not mentioning Waverly's reaction to her touch.

"I told you I was fine." Waverly chided, still embarrassed but determined to hide it.

Nicole chewed her lip for a moment, as if deliberating something. The action would have made Waverly blush, if she weren't already the colour of a tomato, and her heart to race, if it wasn't already beating rapidly. She was so focused on Nicole's lips that she almost missed the question. "Let me make it up to you? I'll get you a drink."

"Weren't you trying to get to the train station? You seemed to be in a rush."

"I've already missed my train. Besides, I'd much rather get a drink with you."

Waverly blinked, surprised by Nicole's forwardness. But then a smile reluctantly crept across her face, and the words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to consider them. "Fine." But then her flustering set in, and she said, "But you know, only because you seem like a nice person, and I wouldn't want to be rude."

Nicole grinned. "Obviously. Just because you don't want to be rude. Got it."

Waverly stared - was she mocking her? But then she realised that she'd set herself up to be mocked, and the warmth in this brown eyes took away the sting of the words. "This cafe's my favourite. It does the best hot chocolate around."

" _'Cafe des fleurs'_ it is then."

The sound of Nicole's authentic French accent sent another ripple of heat through Waverly. _How was she getting so worked up by one girl?_ She didn't particularly mind, though, so she hurried after the tall redhead as she strode confidently into the little shop.

\---

Internally, Nicole was completely freaking out. She fought to keep her confident and smooth facade up, though it was getting harder with every second that passed in Waverly's company. The little things that the other woman did made Nicole dread the moment that they'd have to inevitably part ways. Things like struggling to order in French, as her accent was atrocious, despite her flawless grammar. Things like trying to subtly lick her lips after sipping her drink, just to make sure she didn't have a foam moustache. Nicole Haught was teetering on the edge of becoming infatuated with a woman she'd only just met, and would realistically never see again. _I'm doomed._

Still, she laughed at Waverly's countless goofy jokes and comments, genuinely astounded at how bubbly and positive she was. She'd never known anyone like her.

Nicole excused herself to ring her parents. She walked to the bathroom, listing as the dial tone rang on and on, until...

_"Hello?"_

"Mum, it's me. Nicole."

_"Nicole! Where are you?"_

She rolled her eyes. "I missed the train, so I'll –”

 She was cut off by her mother's exclamation. _"You missed the train?! Why would you do that?!"_

"It's not like I did it on purpose." Though something good _had_ come of it (not that she'd tell her mother that). "I was planning on catching the next train out, which should be sometime in the next couple of hours. I'll give you a call when I'm on my way."

After saying goodbye, and promising her mother that she'd be there soon, Nicole glanced at her reflection in the mirror and walked back out to re-join Waverly.

As she neared their table, she saw that somebody was now sat in her seat opposite Waverly. She drew closer, taking a good look at the person. A guy ('boy' seemed too young, but 'man' seemed too old) was chatting obliviously away to Waverly, his hand grasping hers across the table. She looked vaguely uncomfortable and also bored, and her eyes lit up when she spotted Nicole awkwardly hovering nearby.

Waverly stood quickly, effectively untangling her hand from the boy-man's, and seized Nicole around the wrist, practically dragging her over to the table.

"Champ, this is Nicole..." She glanced at Nicole, realising she didn't know her second name. _Great - she thought her name was weird, wait until she hears mine..._

"Haught. Nicole Haught." She grimaced, trying to disguise it as a smile, and shook Champ's hand. She glanced at Waverly out of the corner of her eye, and she was smirking slightly – not unkindly, but in an amused sort of way.

"And Nicole, this is Champ." A pause, and then (after an expectant look from Champ), "My boyfriend."

Champ’s hand was limp in hers, flopping around like a dead fish, and was clammy. Nicole fought the urge to immediately wipe her hand on her jeans as she let go. "We met today. Nicole's just passing through." Waverly explained to a very confused looking Champ.

_What does she see in him,_ Nicole wondered. He was of average height, average build, with quite a plain and forgettable face and - based off the minute she'd known him - almost no personality. Waverly on the other hand - she was beautiful, kind and outgoing, with a huge personality that was always struggling to escape and have free reign. She could do much better than Champ.

_Not that I have any right to get involved,_ she reminded herself. She'd known Waverly for all of an hour, and Champ for less than five minutes. She hardly knew a thing about them, or their lives.

"Speaking of which, I have to get going." Nicole cut in smoothly. She'd had enough of this awkward situation, and it was clear that Champ wasn't comfortable around her. Champ nodded, relieved, and offered a tight smile. Waverly, on the other hand, looked crestfallen. They exchanged hasty goodbyes, and then Nicole forced herself to turn away, to walk out of the cafe (having already paid for the drinks), to not think about the disappointment on Waverly's face or what it might mean.

It was useless entertaining false hope.

\---

Waverly felt her heart fall into her stomach as Nicole strode out of the cafe. She silently cursed Champ and his bad timing. She'd been into this coffee shop over five times now, and he'd never joined her. _Never_. In fact, this was the first time she'd seen him in over 24 hours, since he didn't even bother coming back to the villa last night. And then he'd strolled in here - right in the middle of her and Nicole's... _thing_ \- and just acted like everything was okay. Which, Waverly suddenly decided, it was _not_.

She mumbled some excuse to Champ and ran out to catch Nicole. At this moment in time, she really didn't care what Champ thought or if she was being rude - she just knew that she needed to say _something_ to Nicole before she left. She didn't like to acknowledge the fact that they will probably never meet again.

Waverly spotted the back of Nicole's head down the street and hurried to catch up. "Nicole! Wait for a moment?"

She turned around, a strange, tight expression on her face for a second, before changing to the soft smile that Waverly already knew so well. Now that she was here, in front of the woman, Waverly was at a loss for words. The seconds ticked by, the situation growing more and more awkward until...

"Haught, huh?" She blurted. As soon as the words left her mouth, she was mortified. _Just kill me now - it would be less painful than this_. Still, she refused to break Nicole's stare.

After a moment where Nicole seemed to consider whether Waverly was seriously mocking her or just being... well, Waverly, the corner of her mouth quirked up into a small half-smile.

"You thought Waverly was bad."

Relief flooded through Waverly. _I haven't messed this up yet_. "I didn't want you to leave without saying goodbye."

"We already said goodbye." And Waverley had to concede that that _was_ true - they'd already said the words to each other.

"Not properly though." As she said it, Waverly wondered what was the proper way to say goodbye to somebody you'd only just met, and realised that they'd already done _that_.

"I thought you'd be a bit busy with Champ to say bye." _Was that jealousy that crossed her face? And that tone was definitely snarky._

Waverly sighed. Feeling the need to explain her relationship, for some reason to a practical stranger, she said, "Champ's been a bit busy with his own friends to even say _hi_ to me for the past week. He can wait." Seeing Nicole's confused expression, she elaborated. "He met some friends at the beginning of the holiday and has been spending time with them, not me."

"That's stupid of him."

Waverly smiled at Nicole's kindness, glancing down at the ground in response to the implied flattery. She was drawing out this conversation longer than it really needed to be. Waverly realised that she was putting off the inevitable goodbye for as long as possible.

Nicole took the plunge instead. "So I guess this is it then."

Waverly was momentarily confused. "What?"

"The goodbye part?"

"Oh... Yeah, I suppose."

There was an awkward pause. Waverly wouldn't look Nicole in the eye for the longest moment, but as soon as she _did_ make eye contact, neither could bring themselves to be the first to look away.

Nicole finally cleared her throat. "So, bye then."

"Goodbye, Nicole Haught." Smiling faintly, Nicole spun on her heal and began to walk away again. Waverly couldn't bear not knowing if they'd ever meet again. She called out, "Nicole!"

The redhead turned around quickly, as if she'd been looking for any excuse to stop walking away. Waverly jogged over to her and held out a hand. "Can I have your phone for a moment? I'll put my number in."

Waverly figured it was only fair that she be the forward one here - Nicole had initiated every other thing in this very short... _friendship? Relationship?_ Waverly had no idea what to call it. Nicole none the less immediately handed over her phone and Waverly tapped her number into the contacts list.

"Stay in touch?" Waverly knew that she was getting her hopes up too high, that she'd still probably never hear from Nicole again, but she couldn't help it. Nicole made her irrational like that.

"It would be a pleasure." There it was - the tone that Waverly had already called _'Trademark Nicole'_ in her head. Smooth, confidant, a hint of flirtatiousness.

The two women smiled at each other a moment longer, and this time it was Waverly who forced herself to walk away, only feeling slightly better than before.

_She'll call,_ she tried to tell herself. _She has to call._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few weeks later, and Nicole is back at work. Waverly and Wynonna come up against another Revenant, one that has them both worried.
> 
> WARNINGS: graphic depictions of violence and gore, and minor character death in this chapter (canon-typical).

As soon as the bedroom door shut behind her, Nicole Haught let the tears flow freely. She'd been back on the job for one week - _one week!_ \- and had already seen so much violence and horror that she just wished she could sleep and never had to remember any of it. But she knows that tomorrow will offer no reprise from the endless onslaught of horrific things she sees, because that's her job.

When she was in the police academy, she knew that she'd see violence, she knew she'd see gore, she knew she'd see sides of people that were normally kept so carefully hidden. She thought she'd have been able to take it, and for a while, she had. But after two years, it hadn't gotten any easier.

It wouldn't have been so bad if she'd seen how she was making a difference. But when the call came from the worried neighbour, on that street with the chicken takeout place at the end, Nicole knew exactly what waited for her, because she'd seen it so many times. The neighbour reported a 'disturbance' as if they didn't know what was happening. Nicole would 'investigate' as if anything about the situation was a mystery anymore. The wife would insist that she'd fallen down the stairs, or _"no, this time I tripped over my own two feet - so clumsy of me"._ Things would quiet down for a while, and then she'd be staring at the neon sign for 'The Best Fried Chicken in Toronto' and know that whatever she did here wouldn't make the slightest bit of difference. Nothing would change - it never did.

Just tonight, she'd gotten dispatched to the outskirts of some of the city's suburbs. Somebody had heard a gunshot, and she'd been the closest officer in the area. Nicole had hurried to the location, praying that other officers would arrive soon (she didn't fancy taking on a gunman alone), and had found it deserted. Well, that's what she thought at first. And then she'd seen the flicker of movement in the corner of the street and gone over to investigate.

A woman, younger than Nicole, whimpering as she pressed trembling hands to a wound in her stomach. The police officer had rushed to help, to try and keep her alive, but the damage had been too extensive, the help too late. The woman had died while grasping one of Nicole's bloodstained hands.

Just seconds later, another officer arrived, and the paramedic that she'd immediately called for upon finding the woman. _Too late,_ Nicole thought in a daze. _We were too late._

Feeling like her head was submerged in water, Nicole had just sat there in a growing pool of blood. She was numb to the outside world. Noises sounded faraway, figures that moved in front of her were blurred and unfocused. Eventually, somebody (she still didn't know who) had grabbed her by her arm and hauled her away. _Probably to inspect the crime scene_. At that, she worried briefly that she'd been contaminating forensic evidence for however long she was sat there, but then the numbness set back in and she found herself not caring.

The event may have been less destructive if it was the first time Nicole had watched somebody die. But it wasn't. And she knew, she just _knew_ , that it wouldn't be the last time, not by a long shot.

So Nicole Haught had let herself be dragged away from the woman staring at her with unseeing eyes, into a police car, and driven home. She didn't ask what would be done with her own car. Again, she found it hard to care.

Stepping through her front door had let some semblance of normality return. Her cat had greeted her as she always did, purring and winding her way through Nicole's feet. Performing the everyday tasks had also made her begin to _feel_ again. Things like changing the cat's food and water dishes, or putting the dishwasher on, or putting her dinner in the microwave.

They'd made her feel enough that when she finally walked into her bedroom, she hadn't been able to hold the tears back anymore. She'd sobbed into her pillow, making the fabric damp underneath her cheek. The tears that fell weren't just for the woman who'd just died - the woman who's name Nicole didn't even know - but they were for every scarred and hurt soul that she'd seen in the past two years. And there were a lot of them.

So Nicole let herself cry. She let herself feel the grief that had been slowly building inside her. And she knew then - with no shadow of a doubt in her mind - that things needed to change.

\---

"Waverly!"

Waverly Earp rolled her eyes at her sister's bossy tone. "Yeah?" She shouted back.

"Where's my leather jacket?"

Upstairs, Waverly could also hear the sounds of wardrobes opening and closing, boxes being upturned, generally Wynonna making as much mess as possible.

"Which one?"

A pause, and then her sister exclaimed, " _My leather jacket!_ The one with the tassels! I look totally badass in it."

"Why should I know where it is?"

"Well, you do things around the house... Like picking up clothes and washing them and stuff?" Wynonna's unsure voice demonstrated just how much she did around the house in terms of day-to-day chores.

Just then, the door to the homestead opened and Xavier Dolls walked in with his customary bomber jacket on as usual. "I can hear you two yelling from outside. What's going on?"

Waverly opened her mouth to answer, but then Wynonna appeared at the top of the stairs with a huge grin on her face. "Dolls! Do you know where my jacket is?"

Dolls glanced at Waverly, who shrugged, and then turned back to Wynonna. "The leather one with the tassels?"

Wynonna looked positively ecstatic that he knew and nodded.

"Erm, no. I don't know where it is. Have you checked -"

"I've checked everywhere." Wynonna snapped, spinning around and clambering back upstairs, the grin long since disappeared.

Dolls again looked to Waverly, as if she could help in any way.

"Why does everyone think I'll know where it is? It's _her_ jacket!"

"Yeah, but you do the laundry and stuff."

Waverly huffed and went to check the room with the washing machines in, though why on earth anyone would wash a leather jacket...

She could still hear the conversation that was going on over the staircase.

"Earp!" Dolls barked out. "We need to get going."

"Well I need my leather jacket."

"Just grab another jacket and let's go."

Wynonna's incredulous tone carried very well. "Another jacket?! _Another jacket?!_ I can't just pick any old jacket, as if were some sort of... of... _thing_ that people just _do_!" A pause as Wynonna evaluated what she'd just said. "Okay, maybe not my best metaphor, but let's just ignore that happened. Let's focus on finding my jacket."

Eventually, Dolls managed to drag Wynonna out of the house to investigate some new possible revenant sighting. She still hadn't found that jacket.

Waverly checked the time, and found it was late enough to warrant going to bed. She quickly got changed, brushed her teeth and was just dozing off as her phone rang. Only a few people ever rang her, and at this time... Immediately thinking Wynonna or Dolls was in trouble, she quickly answered.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?"

There was a pause, and then, _"Waverly?"_

Even though it had been weeks without hearing that voice, Waverly could never forget it. "Nicole."

It was a statement, not a question, though Nicole still answered, _"Yeah."_

Waverly smiled. Just hearing her voice made her calmer, somehow happier. "Sorry, I thought it was my sister calling."

_"Is she okay? You sounded worried."_

"Yeah, oh yeah. It's just with the time, and the fact that she's like the only person who calls me..."

_"What about Champ? No good night calls?"_

Waverly laughed. The idea was just ridiculous. "No, not at all."

The sound of Nicole's laughter was slightly distorted by the phone connection, but Waverly could still hear it. Something wasn't right.

"Nicole? You okay?"

There was silence for a long moment. It was broken by the sound of muffled sobs, as if Nicole didn't want to be heard crying. Worry, undiluted and fierce, gripped Waverly for this woman that she barely knew.

"Tell me what's wrong Nicole." She used the same voice that she used when Wynonna was screaming in the middle of the night, calling out their father's, or Willa's, name. It was a tone that comforted as well as supported, showed understanding but didn't pry. It had always worked with Wynonna, and it worked now with Nicole.

Waverly had asked her to tell her what was wrong. And she did.

\---

Nicole had never told anybody else the things she was telling Waverly. Things like how tired she was of all the non-stop violence, but how she couldn't imagine doing any other job. She couldn't tell her parents these things - they'd been worrying endlessly about her anyway after the thing with Tess. Hence the reunion the other week - they'd decided that Nicole needed to visit them so they could tell her - face to face - to 'get back out there' and 'move on'. They didn't need any added stress. And she couldn't tell any of her colleagues and friends in the force, for fear of appearing weak or not suitable for the job which _wasn't the case_. She could deal with the horror. She just needed a break from it all.

So she found herself spelling her secrets to this woman, who she hadn't spoken to since their first meeting three weeks ago. She didn't know if it was the understanding in Waverly's soft voice, or the lack of pressure to say everything, or just the fact that Nicole was doing this over the phone, but once she'd started talking she couldn't stop. And Waverly never asked her to. Even when the clock beside Nicole's bed showed it was nearly 4 o'clock, Waverly was still there, as attentive as ever.

She didn’t mention Tess, but then again – she never mentions Tess.

When she'd finally finished, Waverly was silent for a long moment, as if wondering how to proceed. Nicole wondered whether she'd scared her away with her less than pleasant stories and experiences, but when Waverly spoke again, all doubt fled the police officer's mind.

 _"So what do you want to do?"_ Such a simple question really, but Nicole had to think it over for a long while. Somehow, she knew Waverly would wait.

Eventually, she had her answer. "I don't think I can do it anymore. Not in Toronto. There's too much... Violence. Everywhere."

_"So you want to transfer somewhere else? A smaller place?"_

A pause as she gave it one last thought, and then, "Yeah, I think so."

She could hear Waverly's smile in her voice as she said, _"Good. That's good - now you have a plan."_

And though it seemed insignificant, Nicole realised how much it helped that she _did_ have a plan. Because now she had a purpose, now she had something to work towards instead of wandering aimlessly around in misery and despair. "Thank you, Waverly. For... For everything." _For listening. For not prying, not judging. For being exactly what I needed, when I needed it most._

She hoped that Waverly understood. And when she softly said, _"You're welcome",_ Nicole knew that she did.

\---

The next day, Waverly awoke to Wynonna jumping on her bed.

"Waves! What's up with you?"

Waverly groaned as the lack of sleep hit her. She was usually up at 7 o'clock, but now the time was ... _Shit_ \- nearly 11 o'clock.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" She complained. She hated - _hated_ \- sleeping in.

"I thought you'd appreciate the extra sleep. I heard you talking last night when I came in. Who was calling at nearly 2 in the morning?" She paused, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "Was it Champ?"

"Urgh, shut up." She threw a pillow in her sister's face. Wynonna merely caught it and lay down besides Waverly, cuddling the pillow to her stomach.

Waverly hadn't told anybody about her break up with Champ yet, not even Wynonna. She supposed it was time though. "Me and Champ broke up." She said it as nonchalantly as possible, trying to avoid her sister's interrogation.

No such luck. "What? When? And who broke up with who?" Wynonna looked surprised, but not at all upset - she'd never bothered to his her dislike for Champ.

Sighing, and sitting up in bed (she supposed getting more sleep was out of the question), Waverly gave her sister the rundown. Basically, about a week after they'd got back from holiday, Waverly had realised that the relationship wasn't making her happy. In fact, it had become a source of stress in her life, which she may have been able to deal with if she'd loved Champ, or even liked him a lot. But she didn't. She found her boyfriend boring, and predictable, and especially after the holiday, downright oblivious to her feelings. So, one morning, Waverly Earp had entered Shorty's Bar and seen Champ. In the nicest way possible (because she supposed that he wasn't really a bad guy, just a bad boyfriend) she'd broken up with him. Told him the relationship wasn't working blah blah blah.

Wynonna didn't try to hide her grin as the story unfolded. She'd said all along that Waverly deserves better than Champ Hardy, and seemed glad (and smug) that her sister had finally realised it too.

Once Waverly had finished speaking, Wynonna half-dragged her out of bed.

"Ow – Wynonna!" Waverly exclaimed, rubbing her ankle where her sister had grabbed.

"Come on! As much as I love hearing about how you finally broke Champ Hardy's heart, I actually didn't come in here for that." At this point, her grin faltered slightly. "We need your help."

That got Waverly's attention. Wynonna followed her into the bathroom and sat on the toilet as Waverly showered so that they could still talk.

"So this Revenant - what have they done exactly?"

"We've found two bodies so far. They've been mutilated, almost past the point of recognition. Limbs missing, faces torn up..." Wynonna paused, as if struggling to continue. "And they'd been buried. Alive, we think."

Waverly heard the strain in her sister's voice, and she wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out of the shower. Wynonna again followed her back through to her bedroom where she proceeded to get dressed. Waverly was desperately trying to think through all of her research to a revenant that might behave in such a way. Eventually, halfway through putting on her shirt, she remembered. A chill went through her as she realised what - _who_ \- they were all up against.

"Waves? You okay there?" Wynonna's concerned voice broke through to Waverly, who was still stood in the middle of the room, frozen with her top still halfway pulled on. She quickly finished getting dressed, trying to remember as much as she could about this Revenant before telling Wynonna about him. She undoubtedly have countless questions.

Eventually, she couldn't evade Wynonna's questioning gaze any longer. "Okay, so this guy. I think he used to call himself The Butcher." Wynonna's eyebrows rose, and Waverly sighed. "Nobody knew his actual name. He'd go from village to village and kill five people each time, over the period of a month I think. Look, I'm not sure this is the guy, but he used to kidnap his victims, before killing them. One of his victims escaped once. She said that he hadn't fed her for nearly two days. He'd been making her dig her own grave."

Wynonna let out a long breath. "Shit."

Waverly bit her lip, and then blurted. "You're in trouble. If this is the Revenant, we're all in trouble. Wyatt Earp took three years tracking him down, and nearly died in the process. He's a brute, and he's dangerous."

"Shit."

\---

Nicole walked into the small police station, taking in her new surroundings. Straight after her phone conversation with Waverly, she'd emailed her chief in Toronto, giving him her notice. It had been terrifying, but oddly freeing, and as soon as she had woken up that morning she'd been looking for a new position. Some place small, preferably.

Which was how she ended up here, in a small town that she couldn't quite remember the name of. _Something to do with Heaven, or Hell, or something_. It seemed quiet enough, though the residents all glared at her suspiciously. She got the feeling that they didn't respond well to strangers.

She had an appointment with a Sheriff Nedley in his office, and was right on time, expecting to meet right away with the Sheriff. She leaned against the counter top, glancing towards the office where the blinds were tightly drawn. She couldn't see anything through them, not even shadows moving. _He could be doing anything in there_ , she though absentmindedly. Just then, from a corridor behind her, the sound of bickering voices reached her ears.

"I totally beat you that time!" A woman's voice, obviously gloating.

An annoyed man's voice replied, "I let you win."

"No-oh," the woman sang, "this time it was different. I _demolished_ you."

The pair rounded the corner, and Nicole took them in. The woman was tall, with gorgeous dark brown hair and a smirk on her face. She was wearing skinny jeans with boots, and had a beautiful silver gun on a belt slung around her hips. _She looks weirdly familiar_ , Nicole thought, but brushed it off as she was sure she'd never seen the woman before. The man was a little taller than his companion, with gleaming black skin, beautifully sculpted muscles, and annoyance practically radiating off him. The woman seemed to be basking in it.

The woman noticed Nicole lounging by the desk, and headed over with a wary smile on her face. "Hi, can I help you?"

 _What is it about her that's so familiar_? "Um, I don't think so. I'm waiting for Sheriff Nedley? I have an interview."

The woman grinned. "Like a job interview? Cos we need some more police officers round here, despite what Dolls says."

The man beside her rolled her eyes and muttered something about _incompetent half-wits_.

Nicole nodded and smiled, slightly confused. "Are you two police officers too?"

The man she'd called Dolls snorted in laughter while pointing at his companion, and the woman glared at him as if he'd insulted her. "No, we're part of a different division. We just share headquarters with the Sheriff."

Nicole wondered if the woman was being purposely vague about what they did in this _different division_ , because she was getting the sense that there was something _off_ about this town. To keep the conversation going, Nicole asked, "So what's he like? Sheriff Nedley?"

The two exchanged a glance that made Nicole suddenly nervous to be applying for a job here. Dolls answered, "He's, uh, he's very accommodating."

The woman scoffed, while Nicole just blinked. _Accommodating? What does that even mean?_ "That's good, I suppose." She murmured, more to herself than the others, but the woman laughed anyway.

"I'm Wynonna, and this is Dolls." She shook hands with the woman and then the man. Their grips were both firm.

“Deputy Marshall Dolls.” He corrected, quite pointedly. Wynonna rolled her eyes at him, but he didn’t seem to care.

She smiled at them both. "I'm Nicole." She paused. "Do you know how long he's going to be?"

"Nedley likes his alone time." Wynonna said suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows.

Dolls punched her lightly on the arm and she scowled at him. She corrected herself. "I'm sorry, I'm sure he has _very important_ business to attend to." Dolls seemed to think this was no better than her previous statement, for he shook his head and sighed. Nicole watched this go down with a very bemused expression on her face. _These two have a weird_ _relationship_.

But Nicole found herself genuinely liking Wynonna, and for all her jokes and innuendoes she was obviously a very intelligent person. She found herself wanting to get to know the woman better. Her companion, Dolls, also seemed nice enough, though he didn't speak as much as Wynonna. Nicole got the impression that he _noticed_ every little thing that happened.

For example, he seemed to pick up on Nicole's nerves for the interview immediately, though she had her usual 'smooth and confident' facade up. He and Wynonna seemed to come to an unspoken agreement that they'd stay with Nicole until Sheriff Nedley was ready, though Nicole was sure they had more important things to do with their time.

She pointed this out at one point, and Wynonna merely replied with a shrug of the shoulders, "Pfft, sending demons back to hell can wait for a bit."

Nicole laughed, wondering if that was a conman metaphor for police work in this town. _The people sure are strange here._

\---

Slamming the pickup truck’s door behind her, Waverly made her way to the police station entrance, grumbling under her breath.

As she walked through into the building, the door to Sheriff Nedley’s office was just closing, and all the blinds were shut. She noticed Wynonna and Dolls leaning on the counter, talking in low voices.

She joined them, and Wynonna offered her a tight smile.

Instantly concerned, Waverly asked, “What’s up?”

Wynonna shrugged. “It’s just this case. This Revenant. It seems… different.” She looked down at her hands for a moment, and when she looked back up, there was a smile on her face. “Anyway, what’s up with _you_? I heard you complaining from all the way in here.”

Waverly shook her head at her sister’s ability to shove her fear and doubts to the back of her mind, and instead went along with the change in conversation. It took a lot to make Wynonna genuinely worried, and Waverly wanted to help.

“Doc’s not answering his phone. I mean, I’ve shown him how to use it and he _told_ me he understood, but…” She gestured helplessly at the mobile in her own hand which showed multiple outgoing calls to ‘Doc’, none of them received.

Wynonna chuckled, and even Dolls managed a small smile. Doc had resisted technology for months, eventually giving in when Waverly told him they needed to be able to get in touch with him whenever, in case they needed his help. They’d given him a mobile phone, but he’d yet to actually use it.

“Why’s the Sherriff got the blinds drawn?” Waverly wondered, glancing back towards the office.

“Oh, a new officer’s in there having a job interview.” Dolls supplied.

Wynonna smiled. “Yeah, I hope she gets it. She was pretty cool.”

Waverly frowned, surprised that Wynonna was complimenting a stranger – she hardly liked _people_ in general, never mind people that she didn’t really know – and opened her mouth to ask more about this new ‘officer’, when her phone rang.

She looked down in disbelief. It was indeed ringing, and it was definitely receiving a call from ‘Doc’.

Wynonna grinned. “Well, would you look at that.”

Quickly, before Doc accidentally ended the call or something, Waverly answered. “Doc?”

_“Waverly?!”_

She flinched, holding the phone away from her ear.

“Doc, you don’t need to shout.”

_“Waverly? Can you hear me?!”_

Wynonna was doubled over in laughter, and Waverly glared at her before turning her attention back to Doc.

“Yes, I can hear you. What is it?”

_“Well, I asked around, and there have been quite a few rumours about the Butcher being back in town. Did you hear that?! I said –”_

“I heard what you said, thanks Doc. Can you meet us at the station?”

 _“Yes, on my way”_ There was a pause, and then _, “Waverly? How do I end this call?”_

Waverly rolled her eyes, said “Don’t worry about it” and ended the call on her phone. She turned to Wynonna and Dolls. “Doc’s on his way –”

Dolls interrupted with a smirk. “Yeah, we heard what he said. Perfectly.”

She glared at him while Wynonna chuckled. Waverly turned her stare to her too. “Hey – don’t mock him. He’s trying.” When neither of them stopped smiling, she muttered, “He’ll get used to it. Soon.”

Wynonna let out a cackle of laughter and slapped her on the back, making her way out of the police station.

“Earp! Where are you going? We need to wait for Doc.” Dolls asked.

She turned around, an incredulous look on her face. “To get donuts. And coffee. Obviously.”

Dolls closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. As Wynonna left the building, he muttered, “Obviously.”

“I’ll go get started, then. Compile what I know about the Butcher before Doc gets here. Hopefully he’ll be able to give us some more information.”

Dolls nodded his agreeance, and Waverly took off towards the Black Badge office. Behind her, she heard the door to Sherriff Nedley’s office open, but she was already too immersed in filing through her research in her head to recognise the voice, or the laugh, as Nicole Haught’s.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole makes a decision, Waverly has a party, and Doc loses at poker.

Nicole closed the door to her apartment back in Toronto and let out a sigh. She felt good. _Really good_.

She’d gotten the job.

Smiling as her cat purred at her from its perch on the couch, she went to sit next to it, running her fingers absentmindedly through its fur.

For the longest time, she’d not known what she’d needed. Ever since the whole thing with Tess, she’d been wandering around mindlessly, wallowing in her own self-pity and despair. Today, she’d changed that. She’d made a choice to actively start living her life again, instead of just running on autopilot. Instead of sticking with what was familiar – her job in Toronto, her friends on the police force, this apartment – she’d decided to go for a change.

She figured that starting a new life in a new place was exactly what she needed.

She sat in silence for another minute, before reaching into her pocket and digging out her phone. Scrolling through her contacts, she paused on ‘Waverly”. She wondered what the other woman was doing now. Wondered if she was with Champ Hardy, or maybe the sister that she mentioned the other night. Or maybe she was just with friends, people who got to see her every single day and laugh and joke and talk to her whenever they wanted to. People that probably took her for granted.

Sighing, she locked her phone again and put it down on the sofa beside her. She felt a bit embarrassed about her phone conversation with Waverly now. She’d literally broken down, and it had pretty much forced Waverly to stay on the line and help her through it. Nicole Haught was a very private person, and she liked to keep the façade up that she was cool, confident and – above all – practically invulnerable. But Waverly had seen every bit of that façade crumble and disintegrate.

The only other person who had seen that side to Nicole was Tess.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, and stood up. Deciding that a celebration was in order, she went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. Just as she was putting the bottle away, a sound interrupted the silence of the apartment.

Her phone was ringing.

Her cat looked like it was ready to pounce on it, eyeing it up suspiciously, so she hurried over to it and picked it up. Glaring at her cat, she didn’t bother checking the caller ID as she said, slightly breathlessly, “Hello?”

_“Hey.”_

She nearly dropped the glass of wine she was holding. One syllable was all it took, and images of a French café, twinkling brown eyes, and a floppy sunhat invaded her thoughts. _Waverly._

_“It’s Waverly.”_

Nicole chuckled. _As if I could ever forget_. “I know. How are you?”

_“I’m good, thanks. Actually, I was calling to ask about you. Have you thought any more about that plan?”_

Nicole blinked. _She asks like she genuinely cares_. Struggling to comprehend this simple fact, Nicole answered slowly. “Yeah. I had an interview today.”

_“Today? That’s quick.”_

Falling into the flow of conversation was easy, and Nicole soon forgot her previous embarrassment at showing Waverly how vulnerable she actually was. “Well, I started looking for jobs as soon as we finished talking, and there was one relatively close by. A small town place. The Sherriff seemed pretty desperate for a new officer, and he offered me the job there and then.”

Through the phone, Nicole heard a male voice talking loudly. A woman shouted back at him, but then their voices were muffled as Waverly, presumably, walked out of the room.

“Is this a bad time? Because we can talk later if you want.”

Waverly laughed. _“Nicole,_ I _called_ you _.”_

“Yeah, I know, I just… I just don’t want to be a burden.”

_“You could never be a burden to anybody.”_ It was spoken so softly, and was so heartfelt, that Nicole had to blink away tears.

Waverly seemed to realise how serious the conversation had suddenly become. She cleared her throat, and asked, _“So what do you have to do with your current precinct in Toronto? How soon can you leave?”_

“Actually, I’m starting in a couple of days, on Monday.” She heard Waverly’s noise of surprise, and elaborated. “I’ve got quite a few holidays left, and I handed in my notice of resignation today. I should be able to officially leave the job in two weeks, but I’ll start in the new place on Monday just to get settled in.”

_“I’m happy for you.”_ Even through the phone, Nicole could hear the smile in her voice.

She couldn’t help but smile back. “Yeah? I’m happy for me too.”

\---

After Waverly exchanged goodbyes with Nicole, she smiled and locked her phone. She shut her eyes for a moment, alone in the corridor outside the Black Badge offices, and imagined that Nicole was with her now.

She imagined how Nicole would look at her, with those beautiful brown eyes and soft smile. From inside the office, she could still hear Wynonna and Doc arguing, and she imagined how Nicole would envelope her in a hug, as if to protect her from the worries of the world. She imagined how she’d allow herself that tiny moment of respite from everything, before disentangling herself from Nicole because she’d still have work to do and problems to sort out. And she imagined how Nicole would let her go and sort out those problems, because she’d _understand_ that that’s what Waverly did.

But when she opened her eyes, Nicole wasn’t there.

And so she walked back into the offices, right as Wynonna flipped Doc off and stalked out of the doorway, barging past Waverly and barely apologising. Doc and Dolls stood in an awkward silence, neither looking at the other, or at Waverly. She sighed, and went to follow her sister.

Just as she was leaving, Doc spoke up. “Waverly, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to change my mind on this one.”

She turned to him and saw the pain in his eyes. She saw how much this was hurting him. So she nodded, and went to find Wynonna.

Her sister was sat on a wall, outside in the freezing cold, her breath misting in front of her face. Waverly lifted herself up and sat next to her, huddling in slightly for warmth.

“You know, he cares about you.”

Wynonna scoffed, angrily rubbing a tear as it escaped from her eye. “Yeah? He’s got a funny way of showing it.”

“Wynonna… He nearly lost his best friend to this guy. He doesn’t want the same thing to happen to you.”

Wynonna didn’t respond, refusing to look at her sister. Waverly grabbed her hands and pulled, until she was forced to meet Waverly’s gaze.

“He cares.”

“Well _I_ care about the families of those two people this guy’s already killed. Waverly, he tortured them. He starved them, beat them, cut them. _He buried them alive._ How can Doc be okay with him doing it to three more people? To three more families?”

Waverly was silent for a moment. “I don’t think he’s okay with it, not by a long shot. But… He’s picking you over three strangers. _That’s_ why he’s telling you not to go after the Butcher. He knows that by doing that, the Butcher will inevitably come after you. And Doc would rather three people die, than _you_.”

Wynonna looked at her, no longer bothering to hide her tears. “But how can _I_ be okay with that?” Her voice broke, and Waverly pulled her into her side. They sat like that, drawing strength from one another, until the sun left them and the stars came out.

\---

Nicole looked around her bedroom from where she was sat cross-legged on the hardwood floor. Boxes, differing in size and shape, sat around her, effectively trapping her in the middle of her bedroom. Half-empty cupboards lay open, displaying things she tells herself she’ll pack in _just a moment_.

Packing up her belongings was taking far longer than she’d anticipated. She’d been doing it all day, and was only halfway finished. It was strange how inanimate objects could hold so much meaning. For example, that picture frame over there was cracked in the corner because her cat knocked it off the table on her first day in Toronto. That paint stain on the jumper she never wears anymore was from that time she’d tried to redecorate the flat, only to give up after a day because she _really_ wasn’t an interior decorator.

The memories seemed to flood her senses, and she’d find herself reminiscing over a particular object for ten minutes, just sat in the middle of her room.

Until her stomach grumbled loudly, reminding her that she should probably eat something.

She picked her way through the boxes and into the kitchen, which she hadn’t started to clear yet. After whipping up a quick omelette with the remaining eggs (she was trying to empty the fridge), she settled back down in the bedroom, her plate balanced on her knees.

She scooted closer to her bedside table, and opened one of the drawers randomly. Pulling an empty cardboard box towards her, she started to – quite unceremoniously – dump items in the box. The packing needed to be finished tonight – tomorrow, a Sunday, she’d move most of it to storage and travel to Purgatory to find a motel to stay in for the first few days. Also, she was just so sick and tired of packing, so she had little time for sentimentality.

All of that reasoning flew out of the window, though, when she reached a small photograph enclosed in a gold frame. Her throat tightened when she saw it and she felt tears well up immediately, which was exactly the reason she’d buried it in the bottom of a drawer she never went into in the first place.

The picture showed her and Tess on a beach promenade in France, near her parents’ house. The sea was a pure, clear blue behind them, and the sky was a strip of gorgeous azure in the background. They were sat on a small wall, just in front of the beach, their clasped hands dangling loosely between them. They were both smiling widely into the camera.

It was the look on her face that did it. The pure, undiluted happiness that seemed to emanate from her, just by being close to Tess, was obvious, even in a picture. Nicole was instantly taken back to over two years ago, on a beach in Southern France.

_“Smile!”_

_Nicole obediently grinned at the camera, softly rubbing the back of Tess’s hand with her thumb while they waited._

_After ten seconds, her smile was beginning to falter, and she asked, “Mum? Have you taken it?”_

_Her mother turned the camera round in confusion. “It’s not working.”_

_Her father impatiently took it out of her mother’s hands. “Give it here.”_

_“I’ve told you, it’s not working.”_

_“No, you’re probably just doing something wrong.”_

_Nicole’s mother rolled her eyes but didn’t say any more. Nicole sighed almost imperceptibly, and Tess chuckled quietly beside her._

_“I can’t deal with them.” Nicole complained under her breath, while her mother snatched the camera back from her father’s hands._

_“Yes you can. You love them really.”_

_Nicole paused for a moment, wondering whether to say what she wanted to say. What she’d wanted to say for the past two months, hell, ever since she met Tess a year ago._ Oh, fuck it, _she decided, and spoke. “Yeah, I love them really.”_ Say it, Nicole. _“I love you, too.”_

_Tess smiled at her widely. “Yeah?”_

_“Yeah.”_

_“Well, I love you back.”_

_They held each other’s gazes for a long moment, each basking in the adoration they found there. Nicole’s mother let out a whoop, and said, “Got it! Okay, you two, smile!”_

_Nicole didn’t even have to try. She turned back to the camera, grinning widely because she loved Tess and Tess loved her. And that was all she needed._

\---

After Wynonna and Doc’s argument, two days passed without them acknowledging the other’s existence. Then, it was Saturday, and they’d had had no choice but to be in the same room as each other, because it was Waverly’s birthday.

And she definitely didn’t plan a party that neither could duck out of, just to get them to start talking again.

No, that would be childish and manipulative and silly.

But it _was_ Waverly’s birthday, and a group had gathered at the homestead for the occasion that evening. The youngest Earp was quite the popular girl round town, which explained the reason behind nearly the entire population of Purgatory hanging round the homestead.

Waverly wandered from room to room, playing the role of host perfectly, though when she spotted Wynonna drinking alone in a corner by the fireplace, she marched over and grabbed her by the hand. As she dragged her out of the room, Steph stepped in to ask “ _have you seen my ring yet, Waverly?_ ” and Waverly had to excuse herself before locking herself and Wynonna in Willla’s bedroom upstairs.

The entire way through the house, Wynonna hadn’t once put up a fight against Waverly’s assault. In fact, she seemed quite relieved to be away from the party for a while. She now lay down on Willa’s bed, her arms over her eyes, and let out a long sigh while Waverly stood, glaring at her.

“Wynonna, why are you being a party pooper?”

Wynonna squinted at her from under her arms, and then said quietly, “A girl’s gone missing. She’s not been seen for nearly two days.”

Waverly was silent for a moment, digesting the news, and then sat down on the bed beside her sister. “Well, it’s not necessarily The Butcher is it? I mean, girls go missing all the time.”

Even Waverly could tell she was clutching at straws, and Wynonna realised it too, for she let out a dry, bitter laugh. “Yeah, Waves, it’s not him. And you know what? Dolls isn’t really a pain in the ass either, and surprise – you’re not an Earp.”

Waverly huffed, and Wynonna carried on in a softer tone. “Of course it’s him, and you know it.”

“You’re going to go after him, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question. Waverly knew her sister better than anyone, and Wynonna wasn’t going to ignore something this big, even if it was putting her own life in danger.

“Waves, I have to.”

“I know.” She paused, before turning to face her sister and grabbing a hand. “Just, be careful okay? We lost Willa to these revenants, I can’t lose you too.”

They smiled at each other sadly, before Wynonna reached out and ruffled Waverly’s hair. “Don’t worry little sis, you’re stuck with me forever.”

Waverly laughed along with Wynonna, before re-joining the party. She couldn’t shake the feeling, though, that Wynonna hadn’t been as confident as she’d let on.

And that terrified Waverly.

When they were children, Wynonna had always been there for her. Sure, she wasn’t a great role model, but when it came to Waverly she always did what she thought was best. And that included leaving Purgatory for years, which may not have been her best decision, but Waverly understood that it was what Wynonna had needed, after deeming Waverly old enough to care for herself.

But even when she was away, Waverly had always taken comfort from the knowledge that Wynonna _was_ out there, somewhere, and that she was only a phone call or text away. Waverly had known without a shadow of a doubt that Wynonna would come back to her if she really needed.

If Wynonna died hunting down this revenant… For the first time in her life, Waverly would be completely alone. She could pretend that Wynonna was running away from all her problems by hiding out in Greece, but she’d _know_ that Wynonna wouldn’t be coming back. There’d be no ‘Happy Birthday’ cards or Thanksgiving texts or Christmas presents, because she’d be dead.

Wynonna would be dead, and there was no way that Waverly could survive that.

Shaking her head of those morbid thoughts – _death, on my birthday? –_ Waverly tried to enjoy herself. But she couldn’t rid herself of the feeling of impending grief, even when Doc gave her a hug and whispered “Happy birthday” softly into her ear, his moustache tickling her cheek, or when she unwrapped her present from Dolls and was presented with a Black Badge Division badge, with the star and everything, that said she was no longer just a ‘consultant’.

Just after she thanked Dolls, because she _had_ wanted to be properly in the Black Badge Division for a _long_ time, her phone started to ring. And there was really only one person who’d be ringing, because everyone else who knew her were all actually in her house.

But that didn’t stop her heart from swooping in her chest when she saw the caller ID, and she hastily made excuses to leave the room. Seeking refuge, again, upstairs, she answered. “Hey.”

_“Hey.”_ Nicole’s voice was sad, almost as if she’d been crying.

“Hey. You okay?”

There was a pause, slightly longer than usual, but then she answered, _“Yeah, yeah, of course. Is this a bad time?”_

“No, not at all.”

_“It’s just I can hear music in the background.”_

“I’m at a birthday party, but it’s a bit of a drag really. I’d much rather speak to you.” Waverly blushed, relieved that Nicole couldn’t see her, as she repeated almost exactly what Nicole had said to her when they first met. _I’d much rather get a drink with you._

The memories of that first meeting were sharp in her mind, and she realised with a pang that she _missed_ Nicole. She missed a woman whom she’d only physically been with for an hour. She missed the way Nicole’s eyes would sparkle in mirth when Waverly said something particularly goofy, or the way her auburn hair glinted in the sunlight.

_“Waverly? You still there?”_

Waverly startled, realising she’d missed something Nicole had said. “Sorry, what did you say?”

_“I asked who’s party it was.”_

Waverly chuckled. “It’s mine actually.”

_“Oh my god, I’m taking you away from your own party. I’m so sorry –”_

“Nicole, stop it. Seriously. The people here are literally only here because nothing else ever goes on in this town. They don’t care about me.” She paused, too late coming to the same conclusion that Nicole would have. Flustered and embarrassed, she tried to cover her slip. “Not that you care. It’s just that these people would probably rather not be here… Not that you would...” She trailed off, leaning forwards until her forehead hit her wardrobe, and she stayed like that, eyes closed in humiliation.

Through the phone, she could hear Nicole laughing. After a moment, she said, _“I would. I would definitely want to be there.”_

“You have to say that now I’ve just made a fool of myself.”

Nicole laughed again ( _God, her laugh was magical_ ). _“Happy birthday Waverly.”_

Waverly smiled slightly, her cheeks no longer flaming red. “Thank you. So, what have you been up to?”

_“Packing, mostly, which is as fun as it sounds.”_

“Have you looked for a new place yet?”

_“Not yet, I’ll just do it when I get into town and find a motel to stay in in the meantime.”_

“You see, I could never do that. I’m a planner. I need to know exactly what I’m doing, at least two, or three, days in advance. I couldn’t just hope to find a motel and stay there for however long.”

_“Yeah, well, being a planner’s great and all, but nothing unexpected ever happens. And sometimes the unexpected things are the best things that will ever happen to you.”_ Another pause, and then Nicole laughed. _“But what do I know? I’m moving my life to a different town just because I’m so unhappy at the moment. I wouldn’t take life advice from me, Waves.”_

Waverly’s heart stuttered at the nickname. Only Wynonna called her that – even Willa never used it.

But she found herself liking the way it sounded coming from Nicole’s mouth.

\---

_Oh my god – why did I call her that?_ The nickname had just slipped out, so naturally that she didn’t even realise she’d used it until Waverly took a beat too long to answer and she thought back to what she’d just said.

But Waverly didn’t say anything about it. _Does that mean I can use it again? Or does she just not care?_ _Or maybe she’s too nice to say anything to me._

Thankfully, neither had to deal with the situation, for at that moment, Nicole heard a crackly voice through the phone, _“Waverly! Get your butt down here! Doc’s getting beaten spectacularly in poker. You have to see this.”_

Nicole heard Waverly sigh loudly.

“Hey, Wave…erly –” _Shit, nearly said it again._ She hurried on to cover her mistake. “You can go. Honestly. It’s your party, it’s your birthday. Enjoy yourself.”

_“But I_ am _enjoying myself.”_ Waverly whined quietly, causing Nicole to smile affectionately into the phone, even while her heart hammered in her chest.

“I’m hanging up now. Okay? Have a lovely time at the party.”

_“Okay. Speak to you later.”_

“Bye.”

Nicole ended the call. _Speak to you later_. Waverly had sounded so sure, but yet so casual, as if speaking to Nicole had become part of her daily routine.

And with a start, Nicole realised it _had._ Not a day went by anymore where one of them didn’t phone the other. They spoke mostly about Nicole – she realised she didn’t even know what Waverly’s job was ( _something to do with some division?_ ) – and her decision to leave the police force in Toronto.

She’d probably still be working the same job, seeing the same horrors, every day if it wasn’t for Waverly. And she’d never stop feeling gratitude ( _and maybe something else?_ ) towards the other woman for that.

\---

Waverly shut the door behind the last guest with a sigh, relieved that the party was finally over. She made her way over to the couch and sat down with a huff, closing her eyes in tiredness. She felt the couch dip, and opened her eyes a fraction to see Wynonna sitting next to her, looking equally as exhausted. Shutting her eyes again, Waverly let herself fall sideways until her head was resting in Wynonna’s lap and her legs were curled up underneath her. She felt Wynonna’s hand stroking her hair back from her face, and she began to go to sleep, utterly relaxed and content.

That was, until Doc and Dolls came in.

She felt Wynonna’s entire body become tense, and forced herself to sit up and open her eyes. Doc leant against the door frame, while Dolls perched on a nearby table.

“You’ve heard? About the missing girl?” Wynonna asked, eyes flitting from Doc to Dolls and back again.

Dolls nodded in confirmation.

Wynonna continued. “Then you know I have to kill this guy.”

Waverly trained her eyes on Doc, noticing how his hands were tightly clenched by his sides. Surprisingly, though, it was him who spoke next. “I know that you’re not going to sit by and do nothing. It was stupid of me to think you could ever do that. But I do know that without everyone working together on this, The Butcher _will_ hurt you, in some way or another.”

“Okay?” Waverly could see the confusion etched into Wynonna’s face, as well as trepidation.

“So that’s why every step of this case – _every single step_ – is going to be done together. You can’t go off and do your own thing, not on this one Wynonna. Please. Just let us help you.”

Waverly watched as Wynonna looked carefully at Doc, and then stood up to grasp his hand firmly. “Deal.”

Doc smiled at her and pulled her into a hug, before Wynonna hit his arm and he released her. Dolls allowed himself a small smile, and Wynonna strode into the kitchen. She called out, “Now, this is cause for celebration.”

Waverly groaned, desperately just wanting to go to bed. “Wyn, we’ve just had a huge party. That’s a celebration. No more celebrating needs to be done tonight.”

Wynonna came back into the room with shot glasses and bottles of alcohol in her arms. “That’s not the case.” She started pouring the shots and handing them out. “You see, this party was a celebration of your birthday. But I never got to celebrate you finally breaking up with Champ Hardy.” Waverly rolled her eyes and glared at her sister, who just grinned and toasted her with her drink. “To the dumping of Champ Hardy, awkward boy-man and shit-head. May you go on to date more worthy partners.”

Wynonna tossed her drink back, Doc and Dolls following suit with grins on their faces at the expression on Waverly’s. She was trying to be angry with Wynonna – Champ shouldn’t be ridiculed just because he was an awful boyfriend – but she was finding it increasingly difficult to, especially when images of Nicole Haught kept popping up in her mind.

_More worthy partners_. Wynonna didn’t know, but Waverly had someone very specific in mind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole finally arrives in Purgatory, and the Black Badge Division pay a visit to an old friend.
> 
> WARNING: again, there's some violence in this chapter.

Waverly groaned and buried her head in her arms on the desk in front of her. “I can’t believe you got us all here, at 6 o’clock on a _Sunday_ morning, just to tell us we have absolutely nothing.”

Wynonna glared at her. “Not _absolutely nothing_ , just not much.”

Waverly sighed in resignation. “Fine, what do we have to go on?”

Her sister didn’t reply for a moment, obviously searching for a response. Doc saved her by saying, “Well, I helped catch him last time, with Wyatt.”

“Okay, but how did you do that?”

His silence spoke volumes. He eventually threw his hands in the air in exasperation. “Look, this is why I didn’t want you to go after him.”

“Yeah, yeah, we all know how you feel about this.” Wynonna snapped. Dolls raised his eyebrows at her, causing her to rub her eyes angrily and sigh. “Look, Doc, I’m sorry. Just tell us how you caught him with Wyatt last time. Please.”

Doc narrowed his eyes but began to talk. “Well, at first, we only heard rumours – people, normally girls, going missing, and then turning up later on, mutilated. We went to a town where five people had died like this. We found that the killer would have beaten and tortured his victims, and – like Waverly has said – make them dig their own graves every night, until he’d bury them alive. Once they’d died, he’d dig them back up and leave them in an exposed place so people would find them.”

“So how did you find _him_?”

Doc sighed. “We followed him all around the country. Town after town. He spread in notoriety. People started calling him The Butcher. We got to this one town, really small like Purgatory, and after three murders we thought we’d found out where he was taking his victims.” Here he paused, a dark shadow passing over his eyes as he remembered what happened next. “Somehow, the Butcher knew that we were on to him. He took Wyatt that night, as we slept in the local inn. I woke up the next morning, a knife stabbed into the pillow where Wyatt had been sleeping.”

Waverly nodded. “That’s how he claimed his victims – a knife in their pillow to mark their murders as his work.”

Doc carried on. “For three days I looked for him. All over town, in every place I could think of. I couldn’t find him anywhere. Either we’d been wrong about where he was taking his victims, or he just took Wyatt somewhere else, but my best friend was nowhere to be found. Until one day Wyatt walked into the inn where I was still staying. He’d killed the Butcher, he said, with a shovel to the head while he was digging his own grave.”

Wynonna let out a breath. “So when you say _you_ helped catch the Butcher…”

Doc just looked at her, and Waverly said warningly, “Wynonna…”

She had the decency to look a little sheepish, but said, “I know, I’m sorry, it’s just that even _that_ doesn’t help us at all. Unless I can get myself caught…” She trailed off thoughtfully.

Dolls spoke immediately, a slight tone of panic in his usually calm voice. “Earp, no. Not a chance.”

“But Dolls, if that’s the only way to get him, then it’s worth a shot.” The seriousness in her voice struck a chord of terror deep inside Waverly. _She’s actually considering it._

So, this time it was Waverly who spoke up. “Wynonna, there’s no chance in hell that I’m letting you get yourself caught by a murderous, psychopathic demon.”

Wynonna scoffed and raised her eyebrows at Waverly challengingly. “As if you could stop me.”

Waverly began to rise out of her chair to prove her sister wrong, when Dolls lay a hand on her shoulder. She sat back down reluctantly, shooting Wynonna a dirty look when she smirked at Waverly.

Dolls tried to keep things civil. “Okay, so let’s recap. The Butcher is a revenant, probably the most murderous and violent of them all, barring perhaps Jack of Spades. He’s obviously here in Purgatory, and has been up to his old ways by kidnapping, torturing and killing people. He’s always killed five people in every town, but being stuck here in Purgatory… There’s no reason for him to stop at five. Great-granddaddy Wyatt stopped him, but only when he got kidnapped himself.”

Doc nodded, and added, “Oh, and all of the other revenants are scared shitless of him.” When the others turned to look at him with incredulous expressions on their faces, he asked, “What?”

Wynonna struggled to get her words out in a coherent sentence. “You don’t think that might have been useful to mention before?”

“I don’t see how it’s really very pertinent.”

Waverly explained, knowing that it wouldn’t help the situation to have Wynonna splutter her way through a half-assed explanation. “It helps because if the other revenants are scared of The Butcher, then they probably keep tabs on him, know exactly where he is and what he’s up to all of the time so that they aren’t blindsided.”

Doc nodded, finally understanding. “I think we need to pay a visit to Mister Bobo Del Ray”

\---

Nicole sang softly along to the radio as she drove into Purgatory. The sun had been shining the entire way from Toronto, and there’d been hardly any traffic on the road. Add that to the fact that she had yet to speak to Waverly today, giving her something to look forward to, and she was in a great mood.

Her cat meowed softly from its travel crate in the foot well of the passenger seat. She comforted it, hoping that whatever motel she found would allow pets. She passed a sign, screaming “Welcome to Purgatory”, and once again she was struck by what a stupid name that was for a town.

She finally reached what she recognised as one of the main streets in the centre of the town. She was passing the police station just as its doors opened, and Wynonna walked out. Nicole smiled, happy to see a familiar face, and pulled up on the street.

When Wynonna smiled at her and gestured that she wanted to talk, she wound down the window of her truck and leaned out partly.

Wynonna stepped beside the door of the truck, leaning against the metal. “Hey, Officer Haught. I take it you got the job?”

Nicole smiled back at her. She noticed the worry swimming in Wynonna’s eyes, and immediately wanted to help. “No, I’m just spending time in this incredibly interesting and diverse town because it sounded like fun.”

Wynonna rolled her eyes and smacked her playfully on the arm. “Smart-ass. But seriously, congrats on the job. You’ll be great.”

“Thanks, Wynonna.” And she meant it. Speaking to Wynonna had calmed any worries she had about the job, and made her even more excited to get started.

“No problem. Anyway – where are you staying?”

Nicole sat back in her seat and glanced out of the front windscreen. “A motel, I guess. Got any good recommendations?”

Wynonna scoffed. “Seriously? The best motel around here is still a shit-house.” She narrowed her eyes in contemplation, before asking, “Have you killed anyone?”

Nicole laughed uncomfortably. “What?”

Wynonna shrugged. “Have you killed anyone? Are you a murderer? Put people in the ground? Made them push daisies? You get the point.”

“Erm, no.”

“Are you an actual cop?”

Nicole pulled out her badge and held it out for Wynonna to inspect. “I’m pretty sure I am.”

Wynonna glanced at the badge, and then beamed at Nicole. “Then you can come and crash with me.”

Nicole frowned in confusion. “No, I couldn’t do that.”

“Why not?” Wynonna asked, as if it was the most simple thing in the world.

Furiously thinking of a reason – an actual _reason_ – not to accept, Nicole was silent for a few moments. Eventually, she said, “I just can’t. I’ve only just met you.”

“And?” Wynonna gave her a half-smile. “Look, you can stay as long as you like. If that’s only a few nights until you find your own place, fine. But I promise you – it’s much nicer than a motel. And me and my sister are going to be out a lot anyway, and you’ll be working, so I bet we won’t even see each other that often.”

Nicole longed to say yes. She’d seen small-town motels before, and really didn’t want to live in one for the next few weeks. So she caved in to Wynonna’s puppy dog expression and pleading eyes. “Fine. But only for a few days. And you have to let me contribute to food expenses and keeping the house clean and stuff.”

Wynonna laughed. “You’re gonna have to talk to my sister about that – she’s the one that does… well, everything.”

“You sure she’s going to be okay with a stranger living with her?”

“Pfft, she’ll be fine.” Wynonna waved it off before holding out her hand. “So, it’s a deal then?”

Nicole struggled internally for a few more moments. She really wanted to accept, and was almost 100% sure that Wynonna was a good person who wasn’t going to kidnap and torture her while she slept. But it was so _hard_ , taking help off virtual strangers. _Taking help off anyone, really_. But Wynonna was still holding her hand out to shake, so Nicole clasped it. “It’s a deal.”

“Cool! So, I have to get going, but here’s my number –” she pulled out a pen and scribbled on Nicole’s hand, “and you can text me or whatever. I’ll give you the address, and you can drop all your shit off and get settled. There’s a key under the mat.”

“You know, as a police officer, I can safely say that _under the mat_ isn’t the best place to keep a key. Just letting you know.”

Wynonna scoffed. “Nobody wants to break into the murder house anyway.”

Nicole frowned. _Murder house?_ Before she could ask, her cat let off a loud _meow_. Wynonna cast it a dirty glance before adding, “And if your cat shits or pisses anywhere, I’m revoking my invitation.”

Nicole laughed, unperturbed. She had a sneaking suspicion that Wynonna wouldn’t have the heart to do that – to her, or to her cat.

Just then, Wynonna’s phone began to ring. She answered it with an eye roll for Nicole’s benefit. “Sup.”

Nicole could hear raised voices through the phone, causing Wynonna to roll her eyes again.

“Alright, okay, sheesh. I get it. Time sensitive blah blah blah. I’m on my way. I’m just waiting for –”

She was cut off by the loud voices again, and Nicole chuckled at the expression on Wynonna’s face. Sensing that their conversation was at an end, Nicole started her truck’s engine. Wynonna, while still listening to the phone, stepped back and raised a hand in farewell. She mouthed “ _See you later, Haught-stuff”_ and laughed when Nicole gave her the finger.

As she drove away, Nicole felt so much happier than she had when driving into Purgatory, which was quite a feat. For the first time in years, she felt accepted. Like she actually belonged somewhere.

She couldn’t wait to tell Waverly.

\---

As she rushed out of the station, Waverly saw a truck pulling away from where Wynonna was stood, waving goodbye. She frowned, but didn’t get a chance to ask anything as her sister caught sight of her, exclaimed, “Finally!” and dragged her towards her pickup truck.

Waverly held her tongue as Wynonna finished her phone call with Dolls, but as soon as she hung up, Waverly spoke up. “Who was that?”

Wynonna glanced at her before turning back to the road. “Dolls?”

“No, I mean, who was in the truck?”

Wynonna smiled fondly. “The new police officer I was telling you about.” She paused for a moment, before adding, “Coincidentally, she’s also our new roommate.”

Waverly whipped her head to the side to give Wynonna her best full-on glare. “What?”

“Yeah, she’s going to be staying at the homestead for a bit.”

Waverly couldn’t believe Wynonna. It was just so _strange_. Wynonna had made it perfectly clear how she hated people in general, with the exceptions of Waverly, Doc and Dolls. To offer a _stranger_ a place in her home…

“You’re unbelievable. Stupid, too. What if she’s a murderer?”

“Already asked. She said no.”

Waverly scoffed. “Well, if I was a serial killer, I’d deny it as well.” Another thought struck her. “What if she’s a Revenant?”

“I highly doubt it. Waves – she transferred her from another place. Hence, she can’t be a Revenant because she’s been outside the Ghost River Triangle. _And_ , if she was a Revenant, she wouldn’t be able to stay at the homestead, would she.”

Waverly muttered, “You and your stupid logic.”

Wynonna grinned. “I know – I feel _so_ smart right now.”

Waverly hesitated slightly, but then asked, “Where’s she going to sleep?”

Her sister’s grin faltered and disappeared, and Waverly regretted bringing the topic up in the first place. There were four bedrooms at the homestead – Wynonna’s, Waverly’s, Willa’s and their parents’. Those two rooms hadn’t been touched since… _then_.

Wynonna was silent for a long while. Then, with a tight voice, she said, “She can have Willa’s room. It’s not being used for anything. There’s no reason – no reason at all – that it shouldn’t be used.”

Waverly nodded, pretending not to notice the tears glimmering in her sister’s eyes. As she was running through a list of things she had to do to get the spare ( _Willa’s_ ) room ready, Wynonna’s phone buzzed in the coffee holder.

Wynonna glanced at it, then said to Waverly, “That’ll be her. She’ll need our address.”

The message read, _Hey Wynonna. It’s your new roommate :) Can I have the address please? Thanks._

Waverly grumbled under her breath about roommates and stupid smiley faces whilst tapping out a quick reply. She sent the address, but couldn’t resist adding another text straight away. _You’d better not snore. The walls are pretty thin._

She put the phone back in the centre console. “Wyn, I don’t even know her name.”

“Oh, right, yeah. It’s…” She trailed off, frowning at something ahead. Waverly followed her line of sight, and saw a motorbike strewn by the side of the road. A man was half lay down, propped up by his elbows, and was clutching his leg which he’d pulled close to his body.

Wynonna instantly pulled over and got out of the truck. Waverly followed suit, her mind already running through the first aid procedures that she’d learnt when Wynonna kept coming home bleeding from fights. 

“Sir? Are you alright?” Wynonna reached the man. Waverly passed her and crouched besides him, checking for injuries.

“I... My… My motorbike crashed…”

He seemed to be in shock. Waverly glanced up at Wynonna who was still stood over them both, before returning to her patient.

“I can’t see any injuries, except… Sir, can you let go of your leg please? I need to see the damage.”

He turned to look at her, desperation in his eyes. “I can’t. Don’t make me let go. It hurts too much. Please don’t make me let go.”

Waverly’s heart ached for the man. Even Wynonna seemed to sympathise, for she squatted next to them both and reached out to lay her hand on the man’s shoulder.

It happened so suddenly, so subtly, that Waverly wondered whether she’d imagined it. The man flinched away from Wynonna’s hand, sending it a look of pure revulsion. Waverly blinked in confusion. _What the hell was that?_ She looked to Wynonna, trying to see whether she’d noticed the reaction too.

The way Wynonna let her hand fall back to her own knee, and the way she sat back on her heels made Waverly sure that she had.

All empathy was gone from her sister’s face. It was blank, though Waverly could detect the confusion and wariness battling in her eyes.

“Sir? Let go of your leg please.” Waverly asked, her voice as demanding as she could make it.

“Waves,” Wynonna murmured, watching the man cautiously, “move back.”

“No! Please don’t leave me! I need help, please don’t go.” The man interjected, looking desperately from Wynonna to Waverly.

Waverly was torn. She trusted her sister above everything else, but this man needed their help. She looked helplessly at her, away from the man. “Wyn, he’s injured. I can’t just –”

Without warning the man surged upwards, barrelling into Wynonna and knocking her backwards. Before Waverly could react, he’d grabbed her tightly, and was holding her to him. Her back was pressed against his front, and she felt the cold kiss of metal at her throat. Not daring to breathe or move even the slightest bit, she stared straight ahead.

Wynonna slowly stood up, her hands held out in a placating gesture. Waverly saw her go for Peacemaker… With a sinking feeling, Waverly noticed no gun was on her belt. _She must have left it in the truck._

Wynonna stepped towards them, and the man stiffened. Waverly felt the blade break her skin, and blood began to trickle down her neck. Her hands began to shake, and she felt a tear slip from the corner of her eye.

_I’m not going to die. I’m not going to die. Wynonna’s right there and I’m not going to die._

Her sister stopped moving, pain evident in her eyes. “Okay. Okay. I’m staying here.”

Waverly felt the man nod, and then speak. She was pressed against him so tightly that the vibrations from his voice reverberated through her back. “The Butcher wants you, you know. Alive, preferably, but he won’t complain if you’re dead, just so long as you can’t interfere.”

Terror struck Waverly. Terror that her sister was going to die.

Wynonna’s face showed no fear, and her voice didn’t shake as she replied. “That’s nothing new. You Revenant scum have wanted me dead since I turned twenty-seven.”

“Wynonna…” Waverly warned. _Don’t antagonise him_. Her sister ignored her, and Waverly would have rolled her eyes if the situation wasn’t so serious.

The Revenant laughed. The knife slipped slightly on her neck, and a fresh stream of blood pulsed from the deeper cut. Waverly winced in pain, trying desperately to ignore the steady flow of blood. Wynonna’s hands clenched tightly by her side, and her eyes glistened.

“Look. You can have me. Just… just let Waverly go. Please.”

“Wynonna, no.” Waverly insisted. _No self-sacrificing crap._

This time, Wynonna actually looked at her. “Waves, you have to let me do this.”

“No! No, Wynonna.”

“It’s going to be okay, baby girl.”

Their eyes were locked. _No, no, no, no…_ The Revenant laughed again. “So touching. Shame you won’t see each other again.”

Waverly could see it in her sister’s eyes. She truly was going to give herself up in return for Waverly’s freedom. Sure, she’d probably fight once Waverly was free, but surely it’s better to fight now, when Waverly can help?

That’s when she made up her mind. Without giving herself a chance to second guess herself, she threw her head backwards. Luckily, the Revenant wasn’t much taller than she was, and she felt the back of her head smash into his nose and face. He stumbled backwards, and she propelled herself forwards to break out of his grasp. Ignoring the haziness of her vision ( _that really hurt_ ) and the heavier stream of blood on her neck, Waverly scrambled towards her sister, who grabbed her arm and hauled her back towards the truck.

“What the hell, Waves?” Wynonna yelled as they ran.

“Oh come on, that was totally badass.” She tried to joke, but her voice was weak and from the look on Wynonna’s face, Waverly could tell she wasn’t buying into her pretences.

They reached the pickup, and Wynonna shoved Waverly towards her door. “Get in. Now.”

Without waiting for a response, Wynonna reached inside, picked up Peacemaker, and turned back towards the Revenant.

Who was now nowhere to be seen.

“What the…?” Wynonna muttered, scanning the area. Waverly sighed and buckled her seatbelt in. She watched through the window as Wynonna turned around in a full circle, Peacemaker held out in front of her. Eventually, she got back into the truck.

“You okay, Waves?”

“Sure. Fine. I mean, it got a bit close back there, but… yeah. I’m good.” She absentmindedly pressed her fingers to the cut in her neck, trying to staunch the bleeding. It wasn’t life-threatening, but it was disconcerting to say the least.

Wynonna chose not to respond to Waverly’s babbling, and instead started the truck and turned it around. “We’re going home.”

“What? No. We have to go see Bobo.”

“Nobody cares about frickin Bobo.” Wynonna muttered.

“Doc and Dolls will be waiting for us. And this cut’s nothing serious.”

“No way am I taking you to the trailer park. Doc and Dolls can deal with stupid _Bobo Del Ray_ ,” she said his name with a scrunched up face and disgusted voice, “and we’re cuddling up and binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy.”

“You do know Lexie dies at the end of this season, don’t you?”

Wynonna paused. “Well, we’ll watch something else then.” Waverly chuckled, but soon stopped when it caused her cut to hurt more. Wynonna noticed, and said seriously, “Look. You were just in a life-or-death situation. We _both_ were. It’s scary, and you’re hurt. The Earp curse can wait for a day.”

Waverly sighed. She hated to play this card, she _really_ did, but Wynonna obviously wasn’t going to change her opinion on this. “Those girls aren’t. Another one went missing, remember? She’s the third. You need to get this guy, and Bobo Del Ray might have information. Me getting a little scratch isn’t going to change that.”

Wynonna was silent for a long moment, before slowly pulling in to the side of the road. She turned in her seat to look at Waverly.

“Fine. We’ll go to the trailer park, like we planned. But we’re getting that ridiculously large first aid kit from Dolls’ trunk when we meet him and patching you up. And then you’re not getting out of this car.”

Waverly opened her mouth to protest, but she saw the look in her sister’s eyes. It was a miracle she’d managed to get her agree to this much, really. So she nodded and smiled.

Wynonna seemed to find that an acceptable response, and started the engine again. Waverly leant back in her seat and let out a breath, closing her eyes. As inviting as going home sounded, she knew they had to keep going. For the missing girl. For those dead women.

What had happened to her was _nothing_ to what they’d gone through.

\---

Nicole struggled up to the door of Wynonna’s house. She nearly dropped the cat carrier, angering the animal inside, and decided to set everything on the ground. She found the key, right where Wynonna had promised it would be ( _really not the best hiding place…_ ) and opened the door.

She dumped most of her bags in a corner by the stairs, not knowing where she’d be sleeping. She let her cat out of the crate, and it immediately disappeared into another room. She curiously began to look around.

She entered what seemed like the kitchen area. The fridge consisted mainly of pizza leftovers and countless bottles of beer. Nicole grinned – _this is definitely Wynonna’s house_. Though not knowing the woman very well, Nicole hadn’t expected the fridge to be stocked with fruit and veg.

Moving through into other rooms, she began to get a feel for the place. It was well cared for, though old, and seemed to need refurbishing in a few places. There were two bedrooms downstairs, though they both seemed to be occupied. She assumed they were Wynonna’s and her sister’s. The bedrooms upstairs appeared to be frozen in time. Though they were kept clean and tidy, it was obvious nobody had slept in them for a long time.  She quickly left them both, feeling as if she was intruding somehow.

Returning to the kitchen, Nicole smiled. _This is much better than a motel_. She was still nervous about meeting Wynonna’s sister, but figured Wynonna must have made sure she was okay with her staying for a while.

As she filled a glass with some water, her phone began to buzz. She fished it out of her jeans pocket, and answered quickly when she saw the caller ID.

“Hi.”

_“Hey.”_

“How are you?”

Waverly laughed, almost disbelievingly. _“I have to say, I’ve been better.”_

Nicole was instantly concerned. It wasn’t like Waverly to be anything but upbeat and positive. “What’s wrong?”

She heard the other woman sigh, and then say quietly, _“Nothing. Just work stuff.”_

Nicole detected the lie instantly, but wasn’t going to push. Not when Waverly was obviously still upset and not ready to talk about it. Instead, she changed the direction of the conversation. “Well, I’ve officially moved town.”

 _“Yeah? Found a place to stay yet?”_ Even over the phone, the gratitude for the change in conversation was evident in Waverly’s voice.

“I’m staying with a… _friend…_ for a bit.” She wasn’t quite sure what to call Wynonna. Sure, she was staying in her house, but they’d literally had two conversations.

_“Making new friends already? Am I going to be replaced soon?”_

Waverly was obviously joking, but Nicole couldn’t even think of somebody else taking her place. “Never.”

Waverly’s laughter faded. Nicole coughed awkwardly, wishing she hadn’t said anything. “Anyway, what are you up to?”

_“I’m actually just sat in the car now. My sister’s not letting me get out. Apparently it’s ‘too dangerous’”_

Nicole frowned in confusion. “What is it that you do, again?”

_“Oh, erm, I research. Things. I’m the researcher.”_

That didn’t really clear things up for Nicole. _What kind of ‘researcher’ gets into situations so dangerous she can’t get out of the car?_

Before she had a chance to ask, Waverly spoke apologetically. _“Nicole, I’m really sorry. I have to go now, but I’ll speak to you tonight? I want to hear about this new town and your new best friend.”_

Nicole smiled. “Sure. Speak to you tonight.”

_“Bye.”_

“Bye.” She replied softly, ending the call. She sat thoughtfully, looking at her phone. With a start, she realised how little she actually knew about Waverly.

_God, I don’t even know her last name._

The realisation settled like a tonne of bricks in her stomach. Sure, they’d spoken a lot, and Nicole regarded Waverly as her best friend ( _and only friend, really, before Wynonna_ ), but she didn’t really know a lot about the woman.

She resolved to find out more, tonight, starting with her full name. She just couldn’t believe they’d gone this far without it once cropping up.

With a shake of the head, Nicole went to explore the outside of the homestead.

\---

Waverly put her phone away, looking curiously out of the window. Bobo Del Ray had just appeared from one of the trailers, and seemed to be grinning at her sister, Dolls and Doc.

“Oh, screw it.” Waverly muttered under her breath, quickly unbuckled her belt and crept out of the truck. She moved as close as possible without being seen, and took a position crouched behind a brick wall. She could just make out their voices on the wind.

“The Earp heir. I was wondering when you’d show up and grace us with your presence.”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it, you’re creepy. No need to overdo it. Now, we just want information.”

Bobo laughed. “I presume you’re asking about a certain revenant who has just recently reappeared in town.”

Dolls chimed in. “We just need his whereabouts. That’s it.”

“And why would I give them to you? A Deputy Marshall with the Black Badge Division, the Earp heir and Wyatt Earp’s right hand man. Not exactly my best friends. ”

Waverly peeked out over the wall. It was obvious that Wynonna was struggling to come up with a response.

_He was obviously going to ask that question. How does she not have an answer ready?_

Steeling herself for Wynonna’s wrath, Waverly stood up and called out. “You’re looking pretty lonely here, Bobo.”

She began to walk towards the group. Wynonna spun around and glared at her, whereas Doc and Dolls looked mildly amused by the siblings’ drama.

“Ah, Waverly. My favourite Earp.”

“They’ve all left you, haven’t they?”

Bobo appraised her for a moment, before nodding his acquiescence. “Most of them.”

Wynonna glanced around the trailer park, as if only now realising it was deserted. There wasn’t a revenant in sight, apart from Bobo.

“Without your groupies, you’ve got no power, no influence. You’re just Bobo Del Ray. _Insignificant_.”

Bobo bristled at the last comment, and Wynonna – though still obviously furious at her – stepped subtly between Waverly and the Revenant.

“Waves, you might want to ease up on the insults. We _do_ want him to help us, remember.” Wynonna murmured.

“Right, yes, sorry. Anyway, Bobo, if you tell us where he is and help us find him, we’ll kill him for you. Then, all of your little flock will come running back to you.”

The Revenant seemed to consider her words. Eventually, he turned around and began walking back to his trailer. As if it was an afterthought, he called back to them. “I’ll get back to you.”

With that, his trailer door slammed shut. The group seemed to exhale as one, all looking at each other apprehensively.

Dolls spoke first. “That went well, considering –”

Wynonna paid no heed to what he was saying, instead turning on Waverly in a fury. “What don’t you understand about _‘Stay in the car’_?”

Waverly shrunk back from the blazing anger in her sister’s eyes. She knew it came from fear that she’d get hurt, but really, there was _no need._ “I’m sorry, Wyn, I just wanted to help –”

“You wanted to help? You know how you can help, Waverly? You can stay alive.”

Waverly blinked in shock, and even Wynonna seemed to regret saying the words. Doc placed a hand on the older Earp’s shoulder but she easily shrugged it off.

“Just get back in the car. I’m taking us home.”

Waverly meekly followed her sister. She was familiar with each of Wynonna’s moods, and knew that she was doing the best thing – staying quiet, unobtrusive, and waiting until Wynonna had forgotten why she was mad and who she was supposed to be angry with.

Sure enough, by the time they pulled up to the homestead, Wynonna was happily chatting away to Waverly. The sight of a truck in the drive reminded Waverly of their new living arrangements. Wynonna had apparently forgotten, too, but she seemed overjoyed at the reminder.

“Ooooh yay! You get to meet Nicole. You’re going to _love_ her.”

Waverly followed Wynonna up the path to the door. She really didn’t want to meet their new roommate. She just wanted to cuddle up in bed, especially after the day she’d had.

Too slowly, her mind caught up to what her sister had just said. She’d stepped through the door, and was halfway through shrugging off her coat when she paused.

“Wait – did you say Nicole?”

Wynonna frowned at her for a moment and opened her mouth to answer, when footsteps sounded from the kitchen.

Heart pounding, head spinning, Waverly looked up.

Nicole Haught stared back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I posted these first four chapters all at the same time, just to see if anyone likes this story. If you do, and you want me to continue, let me know :)  
> Any comments are hugely appreciated, and I'm completely open to suggestions about the story or the characterisation.  
> Annnnyways, thanks :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly finally meet again, and they spend an inordinate amount of time gazing into each other's eyes.

Nicole heard the car pull up outside, and stood from where she was settled at the kitchen table. She was excited to speak to Wynonna again after an afternoon spent alone, and was eager to fully unpack her bags.

The car doors slammed shut, and she heard two voices as they came closer to the house. _So her sister’s home, too_. She swallowed nervously – staying with Wynonna was one thing, but staying with someone she’s never even seen before? She just hoped the other Earp was okay with her.

The key was in the front door, and it swung open. Nicole began to move from the kitchen towards the door. She heard a voice, “Wait – did you say Nicole?” and somehow, she recognised that voice.

Desperately trying to put a face to the voice, she moved further towards the front door. And stopped dead in her tracks.

Waverly – _her_ Waverly – was stood there, looking as shocked as Nicole felt. They stared at each other for a few moments, not quite believing their eyes.

There was a small gauze pad on Waverly’s neck, and Nicole instinctively stepped forwards, her hand out. The movement seemed to break whatever spell they’d been under, and Waverly blinked, glancing at the floor. The gesture seemed so familiar, so _Waverly,_ that Nicole smiled.

She wanted to hug her. She felt like she should cross the distance and just hug Waverly. But they’d never hugged before, and the last time they saw each other was the _only_ time they’d seen each other. It stopped Nicole from enveloping the smaller woman in her arms. It didn’t stop her from smiling more and stepping closer.

“Hey.” She said softly.

Waverly replied, almost automatically, with a small smile on her face. “Hey.”

Nicole opened her mouth to speak again, but Wynonna interrupted. Nicole had forgotten she was still even in the room. “So… you guys know each other?”

Wynonna was looking confusedly between them, probably wondering why they were now both grinning like idiots.

Waverly turned to her sister. “We met once on holiday, in France. We stayed in touch.”

“You stayed in touch with someone you only just met?” Wynonna’s face was the picture of complete bewilderment.

“ _You_ invited her to stay at our house, after meeting, what? Two times?” Waverly replied. Nicole was more than happy to stay out of this, for the time being. _Though they are talking about me like I’m not stood right here…_

Wynonna let that sink in for a moment, before shrugging. “Okay, good point.” She turned to Nicole. “You obviously have a very trustworthy face.”

Nicole frowned slightly. “Thanks?”

“Don’t mention it.” With that, Wynonna disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Waverly and Nicole alone.

Nicole couldn’t take her eyes off her. The image that she had of Waverly in her mind was slightly distorted after weeks of not seeing the woman. Her eyes were so much richer, so much deeper, than she remembered. And they twinkled more than should be legal.

After a few seconds of tense silence, Waverly began to speak. “So, you –”

She was interrupted by Wynonna’s shout from the other room. “Haught-y? Do you want some food? A drink?”

Nicole glanced at Waverly – her face a mask of annoyance – and tentatively replied. “Erm, yeah. Some food would be great.”

Silence, and then, “Waves! Can you make Officer Haught some food?”

Waverly huffed a laugh and walked into the kitchen. Nicole followed silently. _Why does it feel so awkward? We’ve spoken for hours on the phone every day for the last few days. It shouldn’t be this awkward._

She decided to jump right in. “So, that new friend I made – turns out to be your sister.”

Waverly turned around and smiled at her, her confusion obviously starting to dissipate. “Yeah, I didn’t know it was possible for anyone to actually _like_ Wynonna –”

“Hey, you know I can still hear you!”

Nicole laughed, and Waverly rolled her eyes. “Anyway, what do you want to eat? We haven’t eaten yet, either, by the way. Is grilled cheese on toast okay with you?”

Nicole nodded her confirmation, and Waverly set about her task. The sound of cooking filled the kitchen, and Nicole let herself breathe. _Just relax. You speak to her every day._

And that was the problem, Nicole realised. This woman knew all of her feelings, all of her inner turmoil, probably better than she knew them herself. It had been safe to tell Waverly those deep thoughts over the phone – she could almost pretend Waverly wasn’t real, or that it didn’t really matter what she thought because they’d probably never see each other again.

But here she was, sat in the same room as Waverly. The woman who’d changed her life for the better. And she had no idea what to say.

Soon, three plates of grilled cheese on toast were set on the table, and the three women dug in. Nicole was content just to listen to the easy conversation between the sisters, though there were some names she didn’t know.

“How’s your neck, Waves?” Wynonna asked pointedly, glaring at her sister.

“It’s fine.” Waverly mumbled, staring at her food. Nicole raised her eyebrows – she hadn’t seen _this_ Waverly before.

“Do you know what might have made it better? Not rushing into another dangerous situation.”

“Oh, come _on_ , Wynonna. Nothing happened to me at the trailer park. Bobo didn’t even have any of his… _guys_ … with him. I wasn’t in any danger.”

Nicole frowned. _What kind of stupid name was Bobo? And why did Waverly shoot me a glance when she said ‘guys’?_

“What happened?” Nicole asked. Both Earp girls exchanged heavy looks, and then Waverly turned to Nicole with a tight smile.

“I, erm, I fell over.”

“Onto your neck?”

Wynonna snorted and looked down at her food. Waverly glared at her before hastily saying, “Yep, on my neck. Anyway, does anyone want any more food?”

She stood up, effectively ending the conversation. Nicole let it go – it wasn’t any of her business. Though it _did_ bother her that Waverly was so obviously lying to her.

She’d thought they were closer than that.

\---

After the initial shock of seeing Nicole _in her house_ , Waverly started to enjoy her company. Though it had been awkward at first, they soon fell into a comfortable rhythm. It astounded her how easily they talked and interacted with each other.

 _And that smile…_ She didn’t know how she’d gone so long without seeing it. It was simply beautiful.

Once she’d cleared away the plates from dinner, Waverly headed upstairs to show Nicole her room. As soon as they entered, Nicole asked, “Are you sure you want me to sleep here? I can crash on the couch if you want, you know.”

Waverly turned around with a frown. Nicole was stood in the door frame, her body hardly in the room. “Don’t you like it?”

“No, no. It’s just… it seems private.” Nicole’s brown eyes were swimming with worry, and Waverly smiled, trying to ease her anxiety.

“It’s not private. Honestly.” Nicole didn’t look convinced, so Waverly sat on the edge of the bed, and patted the sheets beside her. Nicole crossed the room and sat, her side brushing Waverly’s and sending tingles through her skin.

“It was my sister’s room. My _other_ sister. She was called Willa.”

Nicole forehead creased slightly, but that was the only indication that she’d caught Waverly’s use of tense. _Was_.

She didn’t pry, didn’t press for any more information. Instead she just took Waverly’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “As long as you’re sure.”

Waverly’s heart almost bursting with affection and gratitude, she squeezed back. “We’re sure.”

They looked at each other for a long moment, and somehow, Waverly was struggling not to glance at Nicole’s lips. _They were so close; all it would take is a little lean forward and…_

Her eyes fluttered shut in anticipation. Her heart was thumping wildly, and seconds seemed to stretch on forever. Subconsciously, she was waiting for the soft press of a mouth against her own, _Nicole’s_ mouth.

There was a whisper of breath, the ghost of lips, and then…

Nicole suddenly jerked back, breaking the spell. Waverly opened her eyes but studiously avoided looking at Nicole, then stood up abruptly. “Um… Okay, so I’ll get you some fresh sheets. You can be bringing your stuff up here. There’s nothing in the wardrobe, and if there’s stuff in the cupboards feel free to take it out and pile it up in the corner.”

Nicole nodded, eyes a little dazed. Waverly wondered if she realised how close they’d been, too. _Not that she’d care. Why would she want to kiss me?_

Left with that thought ringing around in her head, Waverly went to retrieve the sheets. Wynonna met her at the bottom of the stairs.

“What’s wrong with your face?”

Waverly attempted to keep her voice casual as she shrugged and said, “What? There’s nothing wrong with my face.”

Her sister followed her as she went to the laundry room. “Yes, there is! It’s all red and flustered.”

Waverly shot her a glare over her shoulder, and Wynonna cackled with glee. She watched as Waverly struggled to gather all of the sheets in her arms, and then followed her back up the stairs.

“It’s alright, I’m fine. Totally wouldn’t have appreciated your help.” Waverly muttered as another sheet slipped from her arms and she had to pick it up while Wynonna merely watched.

Wynonna ignored her comment, and instead started talking to Nicole when they entered the room. “So, how do you like Purgatory?”

Nicole paused in her task of taking clothes out of a large bag to look at them both. “Oh, it’s fine. Very… small town-y.”

Wynonna grinned. “Yeah, good luck keeping anything a secret round here.” Here she turned to glare at her sister. “Though Waverly managed to keep her breakup a secret from me.”

Waverly blushed. _Why did Wynonna have to bring up my love life?_ It was so _Wynonna_.

Nicole turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. “Did she now?”

Waverly mumbled, “I broke up with Champ.”

Nicole chuckled. “Good. He seemed like a shit head.”

Wynonna laughed and stood up to give Nicole a high-five. “That’s what I’d been telling her for years.”

Waverly very much wished for an end to this conversation, but Nicole and Wynonna were on a roll.

“So you had the pleasure of meeting Champ then?”

Nicole nodded, turning to her wardrobe and beginning to hang some clothes. “Very briefly. I had to catch a train.”

“I almost miss him.” Wynonna said mournfully.

Waverly scoffed. “What?” Wynonna had never expressed any good will towards Champ Hardy. Ever.

Her sister grinned wickedly. “Yeah, I used to really enjoy scaring him shitless whenever he’d come round. It made my day.”

Nicole snorted with laughter, and Waverly allowed herself a small smile. It _was_ fun when Wynonna ever bumped into Champ. Waverly used to time how long it would take for him to run out of the house with some bullshit excuse, though she’d never tell Wynonna that. No, she always pretended to be fed up with her sister’s attitude towards her boyfriend.

Desperate to get the focus away from her love interests, Waverly asks Nicole, “What about you? Have you ever had any shit head boyfriends?”

Nicole smirked, and her eyes twinkled with mirth. “Um, yep. Once or twice. They’re the worst.”

They all laughed. _This is so weird_ , Waverly thought. Her sister was getting along unusually well with Nicole. She would have been jealous had it been anyone but Wynonna. As it was, the situation just made her happy.

“Well, I’m going to see if there’s any food downstairs. Or alcohol. Preferably both.” Wynonna left the room.

Waverly watched her go with a smile on her face. She was so glad Wynonna had come back to Purgatory – she’d missed her big sister so much.

“So, you work with your sister?”

Waverly turned to Nicole again. “Yeah, how did you know?”

“You mentioned on the phone earlier how she wasn’t letting you leave the car or something. So I assumed you spent the day together, working.”

Waverly was impressed at the little details Nicole remembered about their conversations.

“I’m guessing you didn’t stay in the car.”

Waverly grinned sheepishly. “No. It was all perfectly safe though, just Wynonna being over-protective.”

“It’s because she loves you so much. It’s obvious. She can’t stand the thought of losing you.” Nicole seemed to realise how deep and emotional the conversation had become, so she tried to lighten the mood a little. “Or so I guess. I mean, I’ve known her for like two days. She might actually hate you.”

Waverly laughed. _She’s always making me laugh_. Sensing a natural lull in the conversation, she excused herself. “I’ll leave you to unpack in peace. Call me if you need anything.”

As she left the room, Waverly let out a long sigh. She’d realised the reason that their conversations always flowed much easier, more naturally, over the phone.

Over the phone, she wasn’t getting constantly distracted by Nicole’s eyes. Or by her lips. Or by that smile, that laugh.

She ran a slightly shaky hand through her hair and closed her eyes. _Oh shit. I’m a goner._

\---

Nicole busied herself with unpacking, trying to calm her racing heartbeat. It hadn’t stopped pounding since that _thing_ had _almost_ happened. Nicole had almost kissed Waverly. She’d realised way too late, and the memory of the slightest press of Waverly’s lips would stay with her forever.

But then Waverly had obviously noticed, and stood up. And then left the room.

Nicole had been swept up in the moment, though she obviously massively misinterpreted the entire thing. It just _seemed_ like Waverly was moving closer. It _seemed_ like she was looking at Nicole’s lips, and didn’t mind Nicole looking at hers. _I must have imagined it all_ , Nicole told herself, folding a pair of jeans with more anger than they deserved.

Now she’s gone and scared off Waverly, a person who she’d come to rely on for so much.

She closed her eyes and leant against the wall. “Shit.” She whispered to herself.

The worst thing was – that moment, when she’d thought they were going to kiss? When she swore she could feel the soft press of Waverly’s lips against hers? It had been one of the best moments of her life.

And now she’d experienced that, she’d never stop wishing for it to happen again.

\---

Nicole awoke the next morning to an insistent knocking on the door to the homestead. She checked her clock – her alarm was set to go off in five minutes. Deciding it wasn’t worth going back to sleep, she quickly got out of bed, shivering when the cold air hit her skin. She ran a brush through her hair, chucked on a pair of jeans and a hoody, and made her way downstairs.

She passed Wynonna on the stairs, the older Earp presumably going for a shower. Her hair was a dishevelled mess, and her eyes were half-shut. When Nicole smiled and greeted her with a “Morning”, Wynonna blearily opened one eye, raised a hand as if to wave, and mumbled something incoherent.

Grinning to herself – _Wynonna is so not a morning person_ – she went into the kitchen. Waverly was already sat at the table, nursing a cup of coffee and reading a manila file, like the sort police reports are in. Dolls was sat next to her, speaking lowly, and Waverly had a grave expression on her face as she nodded.

As Nicole entered the room, they both quickly looked up, and Waverly not-so-subtly shut the file and pulled it into her lap, hidden under the table. Choosing to ignore the strange behaviour – _it’s probably work related, though I_ am _trustworthy… –_ Nicole smiled at them both. Waverly was already dressed and ready to go, and Nicole suddenly felt very self-conscious with her oversized hoody and unwashed hair.

“Coffee’s on the side, if you want some.” Waverly said, pointing to the counter.

Nicole went over to it gratefully, and poured herself a cup. She leant against the counter, sipping her drink, and tried not to look at Waverly too much. She’d decided the best thing to do was to get over her infatuation with the other girl, and she couldn’t do that if she was constantly reminded of how beautiful, how caring, how intelligent Waverly was.

Her plan wasn’t working. Somehow, her eyes kept being drawn to Waverly’s fingers around her coffee mug, or the locks of her hair trailing down her back.

Deciding a distraction was in order, she turned to Dolls. “Deputy Marshall. How are you?”

Dolls was looking at Nicole with a slight frown on his face, and he kept shifting his eyes to Waverly and back. Willing herself not to blush, she waited for him to answer the question. Slowly, he said, “Fine, thank you. And yourself?”

Nicole nodded. “I’m good.”

They sat in tense silence. Waverly was staring at her coffee mug, not once lifting her eyes. Nicole knew because she was accidentally staring at Waverly, though she kept remembering her plan and looking away. Dolls was just watching them both, an amused expression replacing the frown on his face.

The main door to the homestead banged open, causing Nicole to sigh with relief. A man came into the room, shouting “Any word on Bobo –”

He spotted Nicole, and instantly stopped speaking, glancing uncertainly at Waverly and Dolls before turning back to Nicole.

“My apologies, I did not know you had a guest.”

Nicole smiled tentatively at the man. He had a cowboy hat perched proudly on his head, and tendrils of curling brown hair escaped from the bottom. His kind eyes were crinkled in the corners as he smiled widely at Nicole, though what really caught her attention was his magnificent moustache that twitched as he talked.

“I do not believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting. I am John Henry, though you may just call me Doc.”

Nicole stuck out her hand to grasp his in a firm handshake. She found herself smiling widely at ‘Doc’, though she wasn’t quite sure why. She just instantly liked him. “Hi, I’m Nicole Haught. I’m a police officer.”

Waverly spoke up. Something twisted in Nicole’s gut as the Earp still refused to make eye contact. _I’ve really messed up_. _She won’t even look at me._

“Nicole’s staying here for a bit until she finds her own place. She starts work today.”

Doc nodded, understanding the situation.

Nicole checked her watch, desperate to get out of the room. “Speaking of which, I should really start getting ready. Am I okay to use your shower, Waverly?”

Waverly nodded, finally making eye contact with Nicole again. “Yeah, sure. Wynonna should be out by now. Towels are in the cabinet on the far side of the bathroom if you need some.”

After excusing herself, smiling again at Doc as she passed him, Nicole made way back upstairs. She fought the overwhelming desire to burst into tears. Waverly was obviously extremely uncomfortable around her now, and would probably avoid her as much as possible.

Though it did make one thing easier – it was unlikely she’d ever again be in a situation where she could kiss Waverly. Somehow, it didn’t make Nicole feel any better.

\---

Waverly heaved a sigh of relief as Nicole left the room. She knew she’d acted strangely around the redhead, but she couldn’t help it. Seeing Nicole first thing in the morning, the softness of sleep still etched into her face, dressed simply in a jacket and jeans… it had done _things_ to Waverly.

Looking away had been the only thing she could do to stop herself jumping the girl right there and then.

Memories of the previous night flooded her thoughts. The almost-kiss. It was all she’d thought about since, and seeing Nicole had only made those memories harder to ignore.

“Waverly?”

Shaking her head slightly, Waverly raised her eyes to look at Dolls. She realised he’d been speaking to her. She looked to Doc for help, but he only smirked at her.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“I asked how you are. You know, how you’re dealing with the life-threatening situation you were in yesterday.”

“Oh. I’m fine.” And it was the truth. The unexpected arrival of Nicole had wiped all thoughts of the terrifying experience from her mind. And it wasn’t like she was a stranger to dangerous situations – she _was_ an Earp, after all.

“Yeah, she only wet the bed three times last night.” Wynonna said as she walked into the kitchen. She laughed when Waverly flipped her off, and poured herself a cup of coffee.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” Wynonna asked, standing where Nicole had been.

Dolls answered. “We’re waiting on Bobo’s decision, so there’s not much we can actually do until then. Waverly, keep trying to find _anything_ on the Butcher. Anything new, no matter how small or insignificant it seems. Earp and Doc, we’ll go to where the bodies were found. There might be something we missed the first time round.”

Waverly tried not to let her disappointment show. She loved doing research, she really did, but she was also pretty sure she’d exhausted every single possibility for new information. Still, she nodded and smiled. Though she was now officially part of the Black Badge Division, no longer just a consultant, she understood her friends’ need to try and protect her.

She just wished they’d learn that she could take care of herself.

“Waves, can you hitch a ride in with Nicole? I’ll go to where the first girl was found, Doc and Dolls can go to the second place.” Wynonna asked, already on her way out of the room. Waverly resignedly hummed her agreeance, and was soon left all alone. Trying passionately not to think about sharing an enclosed space with Nicole Haught, she stared at the kitchen table.

She was still sat in the same place when she heard Nicole hurrying down the stairs later. She stood up quickly, and met Nicole on her way out. Nicole’s hair was still slightly damp, as if she hadn’t had time to properly dry it, and something about it felt strangely intimate.

Waverly cleared her throat, trying to ignore the blush she knew would be evident on her face, and asked, “Is it okay if I get a lift into town with you? Wynonna’s taken my truck.”

Nicole eyes flitted everywhere, as if she couldn’t decide where to settle her gaze. “Um, yeah. Sure.”

Waverly smiled at her, heart beating rapidly, and followed her outside. Nicole stayed at least two steps ahead of her on the short walk to the car, and Waverly wondered why it seemed like she running away from her. _Probably because of the way I acted around her this morning._

Once in the car, the silence settled heavily around them. It was like a blanket, suffocating and stifling. Nicole stared right ahead, concentrating on the road.

_But does she really need to glare at it so intensely?_

It became too much for Waverly. Tentatively, she spoke. “So, first day.”

Nicole nodded once. “Yeah.”

“Excited?”

She shrugged.

Waverly sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She decided to go for it. “Look, Nicole. I’m sorry about this morning. About acting… _weird_.”

Nicole chanced a glance over at her, before turning back to the road. “No, I’m sorry. About last night.”

Waverly was utterly confused. _What about last night? Is she talking about the way we nearly kissed?_ _She can’t be –_ I _almost kissed_ her _, not the other way around._

Nicole carried on, her voice tight. “Look, can we just pretend it didn’t happen?”

Waverly nodded, not sure what she was pretending to forget, but willing to go along with it because it seemed to be what Nicole wanted. “Sure. Yeah. Already forgotten.”

She shot Nicole a reassuring smile, and Nicole returned it after a moment. Waverly noticed the residual tension and worry in the police officer’s brown eyes, but wasn’t sure how to help. She carefully reached out and laid her hand on top of Nicole’s over the gear stick.

Ignoring the small shockwaves of pleasure that tingled up and down her arm – _she was touching Nicole Haught_ – she left her hand there for a moment, marvelling at how soft, how warm, Nicole’s hand was.

When she lifted it, the absence of Nicole’s skin on her skin hit her, like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. Shaking off the feeling of how very attracted her body was to Nicole, Waverly clasped her own hands in her lap and gazed out of the window.

She missed the moment Nicole’s hand twitched inadvertently on the gear stick, as if to reach out and grasp Waverly’s hand again. She missed the moment Nicole’s eyes left the road for a long moment to stare at the back of Waverly’s head.

She missed the moment Nicole suddenly had to blink away hot tears when she thought of how good Waverly’s hand felt in hers, though it would never be hers to hold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! The response to the first four chapters was amazing, so I hope this one doesn't disappoint. I've nearly finished the next chapter too, so that should be up in the next week.  
> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated :)


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